I would substitute quality for scarcity here. Scarcity is the result of the use of proxies for quality.
People (think they) need a proxy for quality, but these measures inevitably become (at least partially) proxies for scarcity (or exclusivity). The reason is that making a measure scarce or exclusive is a very tempting way to increase the value of what is being measured.
We can think of measures of "containers" (like the JIF for journals or University rankings) as being composed of two parts, one based on the "real" or intrinsic quality of the components (articles and people respectively) and another one based on reputation and exclusivity of the container. It is much easier, and therefore more tempting, to restrict access and increase the measure of the container through the exclusivity component, rather than by increasing the "real" quality of the articles or people.
In itself, a measure that approximates quality in some imperfect sense isn't a bad thing. The problem is the dynamics: over time, a measure that indicated quality will be subverted. The Iron Law of Meritocracy explains how: actors on the inside, having gained power, can and will game the measures so that only they or actors like them can gain access to high values of these measures.