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Rising soon after World War II,
consumerism, as a way of ensuring a continuous economic growth, industrial production
and research and employment chances for millions of workers, has also negative
effects on the environment and society. Many predictions show that this type of
economic model is getting close to an end.
The main problem of contemporary
economy is tits lack of sustainability and, by following the production and
usage chain of commodities, three main issues can be identified.
1. Finite
Resources
This is not, actually, a problem of
consumerism, but of all current and previous economic systems.
All these systems function on the
assumption that resources (food, water, raw materials, living space) are
virtually infinite. While that was true centuries ago, with a much lower human
population, this assumption is proving its limits nowadays. With a global
population of over 7 billion and rising, the demand for various types of
resources is heading towards unsustainable levels.
Furthermore, not only the population
is rising, but also the demand for various goods per capita and the so-called
ecological footprint, i.e. the burden each of us represents for the environment
(Cairns, 9).
The shift from a mostly rural
population, in the first half of the 20th century, to a high urbanization
level, the increasing life expectancy due to advances in medicine and
agriculture, and the continuously rising living standards are putting more and
more pressure on the World’s resources (Harris 273-275, Pretty 476-477).
The truth is that Earth is a finite
planet, with finite mineral resources and a finite regeneration rate of
biodiversity.
Externalizing resource exploitation
(as well as industrial production activities that harm the environment) from
some parts of the World (developed countries) to others (Third World countries)
is just a palliative, since the big issue here is a global one.
While there is little to be done
about demography (except for space colonization, obviously, Dark 560-562), a
new economic model is required, that adapts resource demand to Earth’s support
potential.
“Decoupling”, meaning reducing the
resource and environmental cost of producing various goods, is still in its
relative state (recent advancements in technology allow consuming fewer
resources per unit). However, for the problem to be solved, our society needs
absolute decoupling, i.e. overall cost reduction (Jackson 48-53).
2. Overproduction
and Overconsumption
The two are closely linked to each
other, since an excessive demand for commodities keeps industrial production
running at the current rates, while producers have their own means of
stimulating overconsumption, in order to sell their products and increase their
profit.
Overconsumption is partly a natural
consequence of modern-day raise in living standards and scientific and
technological advancements, and partly due to political support. While there is
a strong disagreement among modern authors on whether the famous
characterization that Victor Lebow wrote about American consumer capitalism
(quoted in the documentary) was an encouragement or a critique, the truth is
that governments support this economic model, because it is currently creating
jobs and wealth (“The Story of Stuff”).
The issue, in this case, is that
most commodities being produced and sold worldwide (and at low prices, due to
mass production and externalization) are not actually necessary to the buyers,
while their replacement rate is highly exaggerated (Pretty 492-493).
Frequent replacement of goods is due
to planned obsolescence (including its extreme form – programmed obsolescence)
and perceived obsolescence (the product is simply out of trend) – supported by
mass-media through aggressive advertising. Actually, media has an important
role in promoting opulence as a substitute for prosperity (Harris 272, Jackson
9, 31).
Overconsumption is harmful, because
it multiplies the depletion rate of non-replenishing resources and exceeds the
renewal rate of replenishing ones, through pollution, deforestation etc.
3. Waste
Production
Another serious problem of the contemporary
society is waste management. An increasing industrial production and
consumption means that extremely high amounts of waste are being continuously
produced.
Ineffective waste management leads
to two severe consequences.
First of all, simply burying these
by-products means that the resources used for producing them are removed from
the production chain and new additional natural resources need to be exploited,
in order to continue industrial activity.
While the solution to this problem
is obvious – recycling – the truth is that our society is still ineffective in
doing this. A high amount of waste escapes recycling (and, most of all, the
waste derived from the production process itself), while some complex items,
combining multiple types of materials altogether, are still difficult to
separate into components and recycle accordingly (Clapp 6-21, “The Story of
Stuff”).
The second problem concerns
pollution. No matter how wastes are being treated or stored, or how
“ecological” some landfills are, this activity always causes some degree of
pollution to the atmosphere, soil or water. To make things worse, a common
practice is simply shipping waste to Third World countries, where environment
protection regulations are laxer or more difficult to enforce (“The Story of
Stuff”).
Conclusion
Resource scarcity, overexploitation
due to overconsumption and the lack of an effective solution for recycling
waste are just some of the main issues of consumer society.
While this model might work with an
infinite resource pool, the simple fact that the global demand is close to
Earth’s supportability limits makes it obsolete.
Change is inevitable. The big
question is whether our society will adapt to these limits, ensuring a smooth
shift towards a future, post-consumerist economic model, with prosperity seen
as utility and as a capacity of flourishing (Jackson, 31-34), or the change
will come through economic collapse (Cairns, 11).
