I see what you’re saying, but I don’t think the measures are completely unrelated. Would a per-capita adjustment drastically change the argument? Anyway, I think the point was to draw attention to just how large the pie really is before asking the principal question:

> Why do many of us seem to accept that the problem is one of scarcity—that there is simply not enough to go around in our very rich country?

to me, it seems like a question worth asking.