Society Creates the Cost of Living: A Theory of Scarcity Transfer and the Reproduction of Quality

This theoretical paper introduces the Theory of Scarcity Transfer, arguing that the cost of living is not a natural economic fact but a socially produced outcome. When quality and comfort become positional goods, scarcity is transferred from the privileged to the marginalized through consumer behavior, state policy, and market structures. The paper analyzes the roles of consumers, states, and markets in reproducing inequality and proposes a framework for understanding quality as a scarce social resource.