The inflection point

Deservedness is about the long run versus the short run. Once we factor in the resource curse then recognizing the long run and allowing for caring makes it rational to use deservedness rather than welfare maximization as the decision criterion for action and choice. 

Contentment rather than the most efficient allocation of resources is the road to a good inner life. So deservedness and caring and an appreciation of the possibility of a resource curse is the road to contentment. Contentment is what you aim for when you've achieved a measure of security and abundance. On the theory of the firm side, contentment is what you promote once you've achieved sustainable profits. 

So there's always this inflection point once you've passed from scarcity and danger to abundance and security. Life is not only about the one or the other but is a combination of both. The right thinks all we need to think about is scarcity; the left thinks all we need to think about is abundance – and they're both wrong. We need to think about both scarcity as well as abundance.