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Worldbuilding

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    $\begingroup$ I don't think "scarcity" is quite so strict that production must be less than consumption. In fact, fiat currencies intentionally increase the amount in circulation over time (both physical cash through mints and the virtual supply through central banks), for various reasons, and doing so doesn't automatically tank the currency. I'm not sure of the theory exactly, but scarcity just has to mean the thing is sufficiently limited that it won't catastrophically lose value. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 24, 2022 at 10:58
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    $\begingroup$ @SteveJessop: The idea behind a positive inflation target (1.5% to 2%) is that you want your economy to grow. So if a dollar buys an egg, and you want the production of eggs to increase by 2% per year you would want to inject 2% extra dollars in the economy. (The hard truth is that nobody knows how to run a large-scale economy in a world of falling prices, and this is why governments want to avoid deflation at all costs.) $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 24, 2022 at 12:13
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    $\begingroup$ @AlexP: sure, although governments also have been known in the past to increase the currency supply for other reasons. Such as printing money to pay their bills, or the truly old-school version which is to debase the coinage. Not saying economists necessarily approve, just that it happens, and that it only ruins the currency when taken too far. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 24, 2022 at 13:02
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    $\begingroup$ @DavidR: Surely bread was at least somewhat scarce at the time (it is even somewhat scarce today, since you pay more than $0 at the grocery store for it). $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2022 at 20:18
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    $\begingroup$ @DavidR Scarcity helps, imagine using water as unit of exchange in the Canadian shield vs Sahara. I do agree that being only somewhat scarce is not a deal breaker. All of these properties would be better considered on a scale 1..100 and closer everything is to 100 the better as unit of exchange. $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 25, 2022 at 21:18