The story of stuff - the political angle

A few weeks back we got to thinking about how to show people what was going on in the world. Take a step back - see the big picture. It sounded quite exciting - come up with some cool video - people watch it - job done.

Since then I've been looking about at what others have been doing and have found some good stuff. A good example is The Story of Stuff - fronted again by a Greenpeace linked organization. It essentially sets out the way the Consumer society works. I have some problems with the video. Mainly that it does not stick to the key point - but instead throws in multiple pejorative points. The use of the word poison is way overdone. However - the core message is sound. For me - the key point is that the "Consumer Way of Life" is fundamentally non-sustainable. The Capitalist free market works as a consumer system and hence requires constant growth and consumerism.

Ooops - big problem. Sounds like if we want to get to our sustainable society we have to tackle Consumerism. Problem is that we are all consumers - and the alternative is generally held as unthinkable.

So we have economics tangled into the sustainability issue - and now politics. Again - the Little Action approach of "do as I do" is not going to stand up to the economic and political weight of the West.

The counter to this video  The story of stuff - the Critique gives a strongly Conservative view. The general thrust is that resources are plentiful (I'd be interested to know what resources really are available in the mantle of the earth - I'd guess the same as in magma = limited..?), technology will save us and this Commie Greenpeace bitch is talking balls. I'd agree on the odd point that the original video is OTT and hysterical. However - the main thrust again is clear and I don't believe the Critique gives any riposte to it. The Consumer society is not sustainable. Our current society, including economic and political systems are set up to be built on Consumerism. Consumerism is the antithesis of sustainability. Hence there needs to be some changes to the political and economics systems.

I don't believe this means a rush to Communism or Marxism - but we will have to fundamentally change things. Free markets - yes, continuous growth - no, unfettered wealth for 1% of the population - probably not

Sustainability - economics

Starting from the premise of - the only long term solution is to live totally sustainably - I keep coming back to how that could be achieved. There's a difference in opinion between whether big actions or little actions work. The little action approach is that it is only really possible to change people one at a time. Lead by example, tell the world what you are doing.

The strength of the little actions approach is that you can actually get some real results. The general idea is also that the little action is a pyramid type scheme. If every person you "convert" can change another 5 - within a few layers we have got everyone on board.

My problem is that I am beginning to believe that the little action approach is naive. It assumes that a convert can apply their free will to change their behaviour and once changed, it will stay changed. I think that this neglects the environment that we all live in - i.e. the capitalist free market. I think the point is beautifully illustrated by the Greenpeace sponsored video "The story of bottled water". OK - they may over do the point slightly - but the fact that remains is the capitalist free market requires that companies generate need for their product. When hit with constant advertising it is no wonder that people's thinking is altered. In converting the world to sustainable thinking - we have to work against the background push of consumer advertising. This background erodes the good work of word of mouth conversions.

My feeling is that you may convert a few people on all fronts. Some people on some issues - but to get a good majority of people on sufficient issues to really sway the way the world works - nah. I just can't see it. I could imagine public pressure being built up to get rid of bottled water - in the end it is mad. However bigger issues such as transport, the right to as many children as you wish and the holy of holies - the Consumer Way of Life - will be a much bigger issue.

This leads us to "big actions". OK - there can be few big actions without the general public agreeing - i.e. otherwise riots - but I am beginning to believe that economics and politics play a big big role in the solution - not just being a greeny