Sustainable consumerism and economic growth
The acquisition of goods has become a fundamental aspect of our lives - it brings satisfaction and happiness. However, this trend has led to behaviors like planned obsolescence and advertising. It is often an outcome of a capitalist economy that embraces materialism and over consumption. A possible explanation is the Growth Imperative, a theory I came across recently.
What I’m concerned about is the effect of these behaviors on the environment. Consumerism and economic growth leads to exploitation of natural resources. Is it possible then for economic growth and sustainability to be pursued in tandem?
I think this is a topic that is deeply intertwined with many other concepts, the Zeitgeist Movement being one of them. Wikipedia lists many more: anti-consumerism, freeganism, green economics, ecological economics, degrowth, frugality, downshifting, simple living, minimalism, the slow movement, and thrifting.
My approach to this would be to identify the main factors leading to unsustainable consumption. Consumption can be defined by expenditure on goods and services. One hypothesis could be the reduction of expenditure on goods and an increase in services. The theory here is that lowering expenditure on goods reduces the consumption of raw materials and natural resources. Essentially, we should be able to create value without depleting natural resources. Do services expend natural resources? Definitely, and most likely indirectly. The following graphic illustrates contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: World Resources Institute (2011)
Discussion
There seem to be many theories that would enable us to move towards sustainable consumerism. However, we may first want to look at the way we account for environmental impact. This prevents us from taking actions that may seem to benefit in theory but fail to account for externalizes.
We may also need to address the issue of inequality and determine a new measure of wealth that goes beyond a dollar value. Wealthier nations have the luxury of advocating a green economy, but developing economies may act otherwise.
