In the book “The Future we Choose” by Christiana Figures and Tom Rivett-Carnac, a book focussing on positive solutions for climate change there is a chapter which demonstrates how fear of scarcity creates scarcity. They illustrate this concept with an example of Tucson, a desert town in Arizona which had the perception they were going to run out of water so over-pumped the available supply and created the very thing they were afraid of. If they had not panicked they would have been fine.
Anyone who is stockpiling toilet paper is demonstrating perfectly how, if we continue to focus on our own individual needs and concerns, we are doomed. It gives a chilling look into how people behave when they panic. If this is how they react over toilet paper, what will they do when food and water become scarce? We must stop thinking that we are up against each other and realise that our only chance of survival is to think and act collectively. It is imperative to our survival. Either “we all win or we all lose” as it states in the aforementioned book.
Or if I could put it slightly more offensively to the gentleman carrying 63 rolls in this photo (yes I counted) and others like him: don’t be a selfish fucking twat and calm the fuck down. You’re an embarrassment to your species.