The Perceived Scarcity Mindset Is Deadly—and Community Engagement Is the Antidote

March 23, 2026

By Katherine Hayes

For many of us in the U.S., perceived scarcity is not just a flawed economic perception. It is a perception that has quietly shaped our politics, our wealth systems, and our capacity for care. In Minnesota—and everywhere militarized ICE forces have invaded our neighborhoods—that mindset is deadly.

The perceived scarcity mindset is a fear-based belief that we can never have enough. It drives a familiar set of assumptions: that resources are finite, safety requires hoarding, and money equals power. It creates distrust of others, fear of change, and the belief that generosity within one’s community is dangerous. It also underpins much of today’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Psychologically, it produces heightened threat perception, prejudice, and teleopathy, the single-minded pursuit of a goal that overrides values. And because the perceived scarcity mindset also generates zero-sum thinking, people in its grip believe a genuine scarcity—of jobs, housing, or other resources—can only be solved by keeping those things away from distrusted “others.” Survival, many of us have been led to believe, requires exclusion.

This is true even among those who have the most resources. I experienced the perceived scarcity mindset while working within my family office. The office’s mission was to “Be good stewards with a generous spirit.” But its practice was “Don’t touch the principle, avoid taxation, and perpetuate wealth.” We were nurtured to avoid leverage as a “slippery slope,” never talk about our wealth with our friends, and keep the family money in the family. These messages, I believe, were motivated by the fear that if we weren’t vigilant in our “stewardship” the money could easily disappear through carelessness and lack of oversight, or theft through manipulation. We were taught the value of protection through secrecy and risk mitigation. 

In this way the perceived scarcity mindset leads to hoarded capital, empowered greed, protectionism, and the aggressive defense of real and imagined borders. And when it combines with governmental power, the result is violence—over-policing, unnecessary force, and the pursuit of security through control rather than care. In Minnesota and beyond, people are paying with their lives.

Community Is the Antidote

If the opposite of scarcity is abundance, the opposite of the perceived scarcity mindset is an abundant community mindset.

For much of my adult life, I was taught that sharing wealth directly with people I love was imprudent, disrespectful, or dangerous. I was told it would undermine others’ agency, ruin relationships, and turn me into a bank rather than a human being. In retrospect, I see that these warnings were not about respect; they were about perceived scarcity.

An abundant community mindset operates on fundamentally different assumptions: shared resources, shared responsibility, and shared well-being. It values economies of scale, collective knowledge, mutual aid, and resilience.

As it turns out, my fears are assuaged by my friendships and working relationships, not my inherited money. Because of the false messages I received growing up, I felt isolated, misunderstood, and without purpose. When I began redistributing my wealth more directly by paying off debt for close friends and funding needs as they arose, I felt something I had not felt through decades of “proper” philanthropy: integrity. It felt good not in a fleeting, ego-boosting way, but in a grounding way. I felt connected. I felt useful. I felt less afraid.

When people show up for their communities, the effects are immediate and measurable: increased well-being, reduced stress, and a sense of belonging, purpose, and security. Decades of research confirm that contributing to something larger than oneself is one of the strongest predictors of life satisfaction and mental health. 

That’s why community engagement feels good. It’s why people take to the streets to defend their neighborhoods. It’s why so many Minnesotans are willing to risk their lives for neighbors who may not have status or credentials. It’s why so many networks and resources are mobilized in Minnesota today.

From Protection to Participation

Money is a tool, not a proxy for worth, a substitute for belonging, or a guarantee of security. Community provides what money alone cannot: support, meaning, resilience, and care. The perceived scarcity mindset is not just outdated. It is dangerous. If we want less violence, and less fear, we must move from protection to participation. 

Participation in community will foster lasting resistance to oppression and greed. There is abundance if we pool all of our resources and use all of our tools. And the gratification of participation is far more lasting than the false security of wealth stockpiled for some unknown future. I ask those of us with the privilege of excess capital to spend it now to provide relief to those with immediate needs and restore community capacity. Our communities—and many lives—depend on it. 

Katherine Hayes is the founder of In Her Interest, which seeks to empower women inheritors of wealth to redistribute their financial capital in collaboration with fundraisers to disrupt the wealth protection industry.