Making something less scarce can destroy wealth even as it creates value

In 1804, the Earl of Lauderdale pointed out a gap between 'public wealth' (the sum of useful things available) and 'private riches' (the market value of scarce things). Clean air is useful to everyone and worth nothing for sale; make it scarce through pollution, and suddenly someone can charge for clean air in a canister — private riches rise exactly as public wealth falls.

— James Maitland, 8th Earl of Lauderdale, An Inquiry into the Nature and Origin of Public Wealth — 1804