Filed under: Food + Health, J840 Week 5, Society + Media | Tags: consumerism, economics, frugality, growth management, Super Size Me
Supply and demand. It’s an inverse relationship–the less the supply, the higher the demand. This is the only principle that I retained from Economics 101. It works for everything from apples to diamonds to petroleum. It also plays into the human psyche: we want what we don’t have and we don’t miss something until it’s gone. It provides the foundation for my definition of sustainability: the equilibrium or balance between what I have and what I need and want. This type of mindful behaviorial assesment is the root of any true environmental change.
Supply and Demand Graph - www.investopedia.com
First, I need to set some parameters. How are wants differentiated from needs? I think of Prof. Chris Doran’s argument for frugality and how counter-culture it sounds. As Annie Leonard explains, marketing has conditioned Americans to insatiably want more. It’s a cycle of accumulation, waste and consequent self-destruction. Keeping perspective is a challenge when consumerism is deemed a patriotic deed. I consider sustainable needs and wants to follow Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. For example, I need to eat and I want self-fulfillment. However, order of priority would make me reach for a bagel rather than a new blouse. Wants and needs don’t form a neat line, and that’s where balance comes in. I constantly have to assess what’s important, what’s going to get me through another day, what behavior is going to be of benefit beyond myself.
Making mindful and modest choices can at first seem ridiculous. Cost-effectiveness proves that more costs less. Look at the success of Costco and Sam’s Club. Bigger means better. Think of our highways crowded with SUVs. The truth is that America is laden with blind spots. We have literally grown beyond our wallets, our belts and our planet’s capacity. Take a look at the documentary “Super Size Me” and it’s clear that moderation and consideration has lost to compulsive and crippling consumption.
Equilibrium (balance, moderation) is about assessing how we–you and me– are fulfilled rather than how we are stuffed. Sustainability is about monitoring our intake of resources. Because, after all, when we’re stuffed, it’s a bit uncomfortable.
Video courtesy of YouTube.
-Monica D.-
2 Comments so far
Leave a comment
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <pre> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Your comments on the warehouse stores and their effect on consumers is intriguing. I was with my mom’s friends this last week. They lived through the Great Depression, and LOVE Costco and Sam’s Club because of the feeling of “never running out.” It will be facinating to see how today’s consumers react in the years to come to that feeling of not being able to buy things. I wonder if we as a society will learn to love simplicity and what we need or if we will yearn for more of what we want but shouldn’t have?
Comment by hollyee July 18, 2009 @ 11:48 pmHolly Eitel
Hi Holly,
My parents and grandparents witnessed food shortages in 1960s Cuba. They’ll often comment on the “American bounty” when we’re in supermarkets and club stores. It serves as a reality check. For the majority of the middle class, there’s no such notion as need, and no such reality as scarce grocery store shelves. Luxuries have become needs. Basics are obscured by bulk (i.e. Costco, Sam’s Club).
Consider the effect this recession has had on the travel industry. When a family of four can’t make the annual trip to Disney World, the media gives them a sleek new term: staycation. I say we come up with a new term for modest purchasing habits? Maybe “common sense?”
-Monica D.-
Comment by monicadela July 19, 2009 @ 9:15 am