Home > Some issues you may encounter in discussions of sustainability
Home > Some issues
you may encounter in discussions of sustainability
Can you buy happiness? The answer to that age-old question has important implications
for the future of individuals and for social units such as families and communities,
to say nothing of the economy and the environment, Viviane Simon-Brown believes.
U.S. consumption has steadily escalated over the past few decades, in part because
of deceptively affluent lifestyles portrayed on television, according to the
Oregon State University educator, who leads the OSU Extension Service’s
Sustainable Living Project.
"We no longer try and keep up with the Joneses," said Simon-Brown.
"We now try and keep up with the Michael Jordans. The television is telling
you that everyone has more than you."
Simon-Brown is not alone in her assessment.
A new kind of hyper- consumerism is causing a fundamental shift in U.S. society,
according to University of Florida professor, author and cultural observer James
B. Twitchell. "We live through things. We create ourselves through things,"
said Twitchell.
For many, acquiring goods now plays the role that religion, bloodline and strong
social norms did in the past. Material things hold us together as a society,
taking the place of "birth, patina, pews, coats of arms, house and social
rank," he writes in his 1999 book, Lead Us into Temptation--—The
Triumph of American Materialism.
Increased consumption and the lifestyle needed to support it do not bring more
meaning to life, some argue.
"Though we are making more and more money, we feel no more affluent because
we are spending more and more," writes Juliet B. Schor in her 1998 book,
The Overspent American. Her premise is that "many middle class
Americans feel ‘materially dissatisfied.’" No matter how much
people make or spend, they want even more and still can’t afford some of
the things they see and want.
Since 1980, Americans have purchased at a greater rate than anytime in history,
notes Schor. The size of new homes has doubled in the past 50 years. There are
more second homes, more cars per home, more recreational spending. The average
person’s spending increased by at least 30 percent from 1979 to 1995.
Some studies back up Schor’s assertions.
For example, University of Michigan political scientist Ronald Inglehart conducted
a 16-nation study in the 1980s and found that the correlation between income
and happiness was "surprisingly weak." He found happiness lower among
the very poor. But once people had a basically comfortable life, his research
subjects claimed that more money provided diminishing returns.
Surveys in the 1990s indicated that 75 to 80 percent of the public felt the
country had become too materialistic, even too greedy, according to Schor.
How do we Americans stack up in the world picture? Some studies have shown that
although we make up only 4 percent of the world population, we consume more
than 25 percent of the world’s limited resources.
While debate continues about the impacts of consumption levels on the economy,
on individuals, on social units such as communities and on the environment,
some Americans, including quite a few Oregonians, have chosen to move past those
discussions. The questions at the heart of their decision is the difference
between what we want and what we truly need, things like food, clothing and
shelter.
These people have been called "your money or your lifers." The trend
has been called "downshifting," "voluntary simplicity" and
"sustainable living." Basically, all these terms refer to choosing
to have more time rather than more money and opting-out of what is perceived
as excessive consumerism.
Approximately 35 to 40 million Americans say they believe in the concept of
voluntary simplicity,
even if they don’t use that term, said OSU’s Viviane Simon-Brown.
"We are in the middle of a huge transition in America," she said.
"Time and quality of life are becoming relatively more important than money.
Sixty-six percent of Americans say they want more balance in their lives. Sixty
percent want to simplify their lives.
"Voluntary simplicity isn’t about never buying anything again,"
she said. "It is about making some choices in your life rather than trying
to have everything."