Consumerism Is Not the Defining Characteristic of Humankind
A reader comments on my post “Humankind Is Slowly Evolving in the Direction of Eco-Consciousness,” If your concern is about consumerism in general, I think you’re fighting a losing battle. Consumer economics are as old as civilization, and could even be defined as the basis of civilization. Producing a vast variety of mostly unnecessary products is fundamental to human economics…..That’s just who we are as a species.
We’ll see, my friend. It seems quite possible that something like the following will take place:
• Eco-consciousness, which could be defined as “taking no more precious natural resources than one needs,” will one day become the norm for all sane and decent people.
• The wealthy people of the world will realize that they have a duty to help move humankind in a positive direction, which includes decarbonized energy, providing power to the developing nations, and so forth.
• We will elect leaders who will transform the landscape in this respect. If you think this is complete poppycock, please note what Bernie Sanders has accomplished over the last few months:
New Hampshire Primary Results–Percent of All Ballots Cast:
Sanders – 28.5%
Trump – 18.5%
Clinton – 16.6%
Kaisich – 8.3%
Cruz – 6.1%
Bush – 5.8%
Rubio – 5.6
All others – 10.6%
To put it another way: if none of this happens, it’s pretty clear that we won’t have a civilization here in 100 years.
Craig,
You wrote, “To put it another way: if it none of this happens, it’s pretty clear that we won’t have a civilization here in 100 years.”
That’s possible, but I think that its more likely that the world will be restored to the condition of civilization before the modern era, i.e., continual warfare where no one expected to live a long life without serious disruptions. We now have an opportunity to make political changes to forestall such a situation. If we learn how to handle the present refugee situation humanely then we may be able to handle the climate refugee situation humanely.
Craig,
I’m not sure that 28% of the votes in a New Hampshire primary proves anything other than the appalling quality of the other candidates.
Nor did I say that “Consumerism Is the Defining Characteristic of Humankind “. I wrote “human economics” , which has very different meaning.
The defining economics of all civilizations is the production of a surplus of necessities allowing for accumulation of wealth (capital). The accumulation must be sufficient to sustain a city (civic) lifestyle where goods of human invention can be produced, traded etc. Thus the acquisition “luxury” goods becomes the hallmark of a successful society.
I’m afraid this has been a common experience for evey civilzation since before the foundation of Aleppo or UR, nearly 10,000 years ago.
As soon as humans have enough to eat, and shelter, they start inventing technology, not to survive but to appeal to vanity, status and a sense of the aesthetic. Jewellery, art, weapons, ornate buildings, fashion, etc all these consumer goods become the measure of a civilizations sophistication, and competitive spirit.
The production of these “luxury” goods and services allows for advancements in education, employment, science,technological skills etc.
The economic invention of credit allows for a vast expansion in economic momentum to produce even more variety, a cornucopia of human ingenuity.
Of course, all this comes at a price. Nothing lasts forever in a rapidly changing world. Just as civilization rise, they also eventually become stagnant and fail. But just as even the grandest tree in forest finally dies all falls to earth, from it’s decaying carcass spring new civilizations, destined to follow the same path.
The basic error of all Socialist, anti-consumerist economics is ignoring the fundamental dynamics of civilized economic by introducing ideological restrictions that must inevitably fail.
It’s possible to add a number of altruistic services in the dynamics of an economy, including regulatory administrative services with a beneficial effect. (They become more “luxury goods”)
But all successful economies must adhere to continually creating demand so the economy keeps growing.