Page 5 - DIVA1 2026

Editorial

Time as the ultimate Scarce
resource

Recently, at an alumni gathering, I found myself
reflecting on something so ordinary that we rarely worlds. Emails arrive at all hours. Messages demand
question it: time. Professor Helge Thorbjørnsen, Rector immediate responses. News cycles move in real time.
of the Norwegian School of Economics, was presenting The expectation of constant availability has replaced the
his book The Paradox of Time. His remarks were calsm, luxury of reflection.
almost understated. Yet the idea he explored made such a
deep impression that it has lingered with me ever since. In professional life — particularly in diplomacy and
public affairs — this acceleration is palpable. Crises
In economics, we learn that scarcity creates value. We unfold publicly and instantly. The pressure to respond
speak of oil, water, minerals, and strategic commodities quickly can overshadow the space needed to think
as scarce resources that must be managed wisely. But carefully. Yet the most durable agreements, the most
what about time? It is the only resource that is perfectly meaningful decisions, are rarely born from haste. They
finite and perfectly non-renewable. Unlike money, it require patience, trust, and time.
cannot be saved for later. Unlike energy, it cannot be
stored. Unlike influence, it cannot be negotiated. Historically, power belonged to those who could think
long term. Institutions were built over decades. Peace
At the beginning of each day, in keeping with our processes unfolded over years. Today, however, political
customary way of calculating time, we receive the same and economic cycles reward immediacy. Results must be
allocation — twenty-four hours. Yet, by evening, most of visible. Effects must be measurable. Long-term thinking
that time has already been irrevocably spent. competes with short-term visibility.

I began to think about how differently we treat time Yet the challenges we face — climate change, migration,
compared to how we treat other resources. When it technological disruption, armed conflict — will not
comes to finances, we plan carefully. We compare resolve themselves within election cycles. They demand
investments and calculate their rate of return. We think intergenerational responses and responsibility.
long term. But when planning our days, how often do we Perhaps the true scarcity is not time itself, but our
consider time as scarce? Why do we rush through meals, awareness of it.
walk faster in large cities, answer emails instantly, and
fill every gap with scrolling? We give away minutes — Since that alumni evening, I have tried — imperfectly
sometimes hours — to platforms designed to capture our — to look at my own calendar differently. To ask whether
attention, rarely pausing to consider that those moments if what feels urgent is truly important. To set aside and
will never return. protect moments for reflection. To treat time not as an
endless stream, but as a precious and personal asset.
The paradox of modern life is that as technology saves Because unlike almost everything else we manage, time
time, we seem we have less of it, for we are caught up in does not return.
a flow that fast becomes a flood, carrying us mindlessly
along as we struggle to keep up. Instant communication It simply moves forward.
has compressed our professional and personal Upon these reflections, I wish you a lovely day.

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