An uphill battle? Social and technical systems and consumption
sustainabilityIt can be quite disheartening, depressing even, to realise just how many forces are in play that are driving people to consume more. Yes, there are the usual suspects— marketers, corporations, and the basic consumer drivers of greed and jealousy— or keeping up with the Joneses— but there are so many more factors: changes in family structure; people's sense and expression of self; actual or perceived needs; various desires relating to provision of a safe, happy, healthy home; the constant exposure to advertising and branding both in public and in our personal lives through media and our own prior purchases; social drivers including potential career advancement; the many emotional, physical and time impacts of suburban living; the dropping of prices that comes with technological advancement, efficiency and economies of scale; the joy of novelty; even something as fundamental as the idea of earning money in order to spend it. All of which, of course, are explicitly targeted in some way by those who wish to sell more things.
With all of these forces at play, it might be tempting to give up, like facing a mountain of rubbish so huge that one doesn't know where to begin (indeed, that is what we are facing). But then again, each one of these factors also provides within it another opportunity for change: the demonstration of sufficiency or 'enough' to the Joneses; the sharing of resources between and beyond extended families; expression through re-use and minimalism; the fulfillment of others' needs through giving of unused things; the recongnition of the priceless fundamentals of a happy home such as time and self-creation; public art and the restriction of public advertising, and intentional switching-off; choosing life balance over career advancement; suburban co-sufficiency; the advancement of affordable renewable energy; the novelty of the old and re-made; and the choice to earn less, or to give more, rather than spending.
A lot needs to change, but perhaps there is hope after all.
This post is a response to:
Christer Sanne, 'Willing consumers— or locked in? Policies for a sustainable consumption', Ecological Economics, vol 42 (2002), pp. 273-287.