Consumption is the Root of Most of Our Social Ills
Posted Jun 6, 10:08 am in consumerism, economics, environment, politics, sustainability
The way I see it, overconsumption is the single most destructive force on the planet, and the cause for nearly all the problems the earth is experiencing, and population growth is one of the primary drivers of it.
Problems include:
- water shortage
- food shortage
- fuel shortage
- environmental destruction
- pollution
- wars over resources
All of these things are caused, in essence, by consumption. Overconsumption, driven by an ever-increasingly global population, increasing standards of living, progression of technology, and other such forces that are generally causing an increase in per-person consumption are at the root of nearly all the crises we are experiencing at the moment. Contributing and enabling this cycle is rampant, unregulated capitalism that promotes localized benefit with socialized costs (eg. a corporation singly profiting from the sale of destructive chemicals, while society as a whole bears the damage caused by these chemicals). As long as countries’ near-singular political goal is based in short-term economic growth at near any cost, these things will not go away, and indeed our situation on this planet will only get worse, and worse.
I would be lying if I said I am not deeply, deeply worried. We may, in fact, be beyond the point of no-return. However, this most recent gasoline crisis in the US (prices have broken the $4.00 mark) has given me some level of hope. Shockingly, people are seriously altering their oil consumption behavior. Some 65+% of people say that they drive much less now. Bike and Bean says their sales have gone through the roof. It took economic disincentive (not environmental or political consciousness) to trigger it, but it has worked. Economic interests are, most of the time, far and away the most influential drivers of behavior. Increase the cost drastically, and the consumption goes way down. Less gets wasted, and people don’t overdo it. That is ideal.
That said, there is a distinct possibility that someday in the near future, there may not be enough food for everyone. Oddly, maybe the best hope for the planet in this situation is a worldwide pandemic that kills off 50% of the population! Macabre, I know… but it could still be true, provided an even distribution of infections.