Monday, February 19, 2007
Nothing New Here
I read this article in the Washington Post about two months ago. It's about a group of people in San Francisco that decided they weren't going to buy anything new (aside from necessities like food) for a year. It's a little extreme but they set a good example for the rest of us. Reducing consumption is definitely key to helping solve a number of the world's challenges. The most interesting quote from the article (at least for me) was: ""I go on talk radio shows, and I'm amazed by the anger of some people, the Chamber of Commerce president who calls up and says, 'You're trying to ruin the economy' ... I think it upsets people because it seems like we're making a value judgment about them. When we're simply trying to bring less . . . into our house." During the holidays, I gave some of my in-laws checks for $10 to buy energy-efficient light bulbs for their homes. It definitely wasn't a value judgment; just trying to make a contribution to reducing electricity consumption.
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From *Your Money or Your Life*:
"Our economy's version of "more is better" is "growth is good".
Modern economics worships growth. Growth will solve poverty, the theory goes. Growth will increase our standard of living...reduce unemployment...keep us apace with inflation...relieve boredom of the rich and the misery of the poor...bolster the GNP, boost the DOW and beat the Japanese. A rising tide lifts all boats.
What we overlook is that the fuel for economic growth comes from nature, and even under the best of circumstances, nature is not infinitely abundant. Resources can and do run out."
One of the topics discussed in this book is the attitude that if you are not out there buying/consuming, you are unpatriotic, hurting the economy, etc. All I can say is that the marketing machines have done their jobs extremely well.
love you.
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