While this is true, resources are limited, and the real problem lies in using these limited resources effectively. You mentioned corruption, and I believe this is where the first problem begins. Then there's the income distribution and improper distribution.
Many sources may have said it because of those who want to call it a scarcity, and yes, scarcity is a problem, but we shouldn't attribute the global economic downturn to it. With sustainable production and consumption, these problems wouldn't exist, but leaders don't want that.
I think it's all about corruption. Because even the small countries like Japan that aren't big and rich in many things yet, they're able to grow their country economically. And they're also growing their own source and that's the reason why they're a first world countries. Corruption isn't tolerated there and if they're facing an economic crisis, they're doing all sorts of solutions to help the even smallest citizen in the society. Their yen has gone down for the past years but they're starting to recover now. So, it's up to the leadership, and how corrupt practices are rampant into a country.
The governance system of Japan teaches a lot especially in controlling the menace of corruption. They have demonstrated that they have not had much natural resources but can go on to develop by sticking to integrity, hard work and innovations. In my opinion, the greatest challenge facing most of the countries which are deep in corruption is loss of confidence of the people whose subsequent catalysis brings about low economic development. Corruption deprives people of money that are meant to ensure an improvement of their life standards causing poor quality development to occur.
Even Japan was going through hard times including the economic crisis and the weakening yen, yet they dealt with these challenges with specific policies that propelled their citizens needs in mind. Compared to those countries where corruption remains to be a great issue, it is more evident that money is not the sole capital to progress. What is more important is clean governance and the strength of acting decisively against violations on every level of government. It is necessary to understand how without such a commitment, even the most constructive economic policies will hardly be able to achieve optimum outcomes. It is only when there is a strong leadership to ensure there is a clear example of leadership that will be indicative of honesty and good governance.