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Conspicuous Consumption and the Environmental Movement |
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< | Comments welcome (and appreciated!) -- please poke as many holes in my argument as you can find; I'd like to know where the weaknesses are. |
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> | READY FOR GRADING |
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< | First Draft
Premise: if we accept, for argument’s sake, that Veblen’s thesis in The Theory of the Leisure Class is correct, how can the environmental movement hope to survive in a world of conspicuous consumption? |
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> | Premise: if we accept, for argument’s sake, that Veblen’s thesis in The Theory of the Leisure Class is correct, how can the environmental movement hope to survive in a world of conspicuous consumption? |
| | History of the Environmental Movement |
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< | Although the environmental movement has existed in one form or another for the past 150 years, it long remained a primarily fringe movement. While at times certain issues would capture popular attention, those issues inevitably faded from public consciousness. |
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> | Although the environmental movement has existed in one form or another for the past 150 years, it historically has been a primarily fringe movement. While at times certain issues would capture popular attention, those issues inevitably faded from public consciousness. |
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< | In the last few years, however, environmental issues have gained national attention. Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth was (for a documentary) a huge commercial and critical success. Sales of Toyota’s “green” car Prius have stayed high, despite a slow auto market overall. The popularity of organic goods, such as organic coffee, steadily continued to grow. Even Wal*Mart now offers “earth friendly shopping." |
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> | In the last few years, however, environmentalism has gained national attention. Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth was a huge commercial and critical success. Sales of Toyota’s “green” Prius have stayed high, despite a slow auto market overall. The popularity of organic goods, such as organic coffee, steadily continues to grow. Even Wal*Mart now offers “earth friendly shopping." |
| | The Taste of Eco-Friendliness |
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< | While the increased popularity of eco-friendly products may at first seem to signal a new way of living, in actuality “green consumerism” can be likened more readily to a change in taste than a change in lifestyle. Buying enivornmentally-friendly products require any significant lifestyle change, but it is an effective way to signal one's class through taste. |
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> | While the increased popularity of eco-friendly products may at first seem to herald a new way of living, in actuality “green consumerism” can be likened more readily to a change in taste than a change in lifestyle. Buying environmentally-friendly products requires no significant lifestyle change, but is an effective way to use taste to signal one's class. |
| | In his chapter on “Pecuniary Canons of Taste,” Veblen notes that the most "tasteful" objects are those that have added expense, but no added usefulness (50). That description fits many eco-friendly products perfectly. Organic towels , for example, cost more than five times as much as non-organic towels, but they don’t soak up water any better.
Failings of Eco-Friendly Products |
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< | While green consumerism has made “environmentally-friendly” a trendy catchphrase, it is up for debate whether it is actually that, well, environmentally friendly. Part of the problem is that the earth isn’t just harmed by certain kinds of consumption, it is harmed by heavy consumption of any product. While environmentally-friendly products may well be better for the environment than other products, they’re still much worse for the environment than buying no product at all. It’s all well and good to get an energy-saving television, for example, but even the most energy-efficient appliances use some energy (even when turned off). Moreover, in a culture of conspicuous consumption, old “green” products must continuously be thrown out so that new ones can be consumed. The earth is helped very little by a landfill that’s filled with couches made from organic cotton. |
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> | While green consumerism has made “environmentally friendly” a trendy catchphrase, it is up for debate whether it is actually that, well, environmentally friendly. Part of the problem is that the earth isn’t just harmed by certain kinds of consumption; it is harmed by heavy consumption of any product. While environmentally-friendly products may well be better for the environment than other items, they’re still much worse than buying no product at all. For example, it’s all well and good to get an energy-saving television, but even the most energy-efficient appliances use some energy (even when turned off). Moreover, in a culture of conspicuous consumption, old “green” products must continuously be thrown out so that new ones can be consumed. The earth is helped very little by a landfill that’s filled with couches made from organic cotton. |
| | Harnessing Conspicuous Consumption |
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< | So whatever is the environmental movement to do? If green consumerism is not enough to stop global warming and other environmental disasters, how can the environmental movement appeal to a world fixated on conspicuous consumption? In fact, even with the failings of green consumerism it may be possible for the environmental movement to yet channel the forces Veblen describes to its own ends. |
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> | So whatever is the environmental movement to do? If green consumerism is not enough to stop global warming and other environmental disasters, how can the environmental movement appeal to a world fixated on conspicuous consumption? What the environmental movement needs to do is channel the forces Veblen describes to its own ends. |
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< | Veblen notes that, while institutions are reluctant to change, they sometimes must in response to external circumstances (83, 84). Usually, that change is in response to an economic stimulus (85, 86). Such an economic stimulus is on the horizon, if it is not here already. With a rise in the cost of natural gas, it is become increasingly expensive to heat one’s home. The world’s water supply is shrinking, which will cause increased food and water costs. The cost of gas has risen dramatically in the last few years, (little indication that prices will go back down). While Americans have faced some of these economic pressures before, the costs have always been temporary. This time it seems that the high prices may be here to stay. The time is right for the environmental movement to bring about institutional change. |
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> | Veblen notes that, while institutions are reluctant to change, they sometimes must adapt to external circumstances (83, 84). Usually, that change is in response to an economic stimulus (85, 86). Such a stimulus is on the horizon, if it is not here already. With a rise in the cost of natural gas, it is becoming increasingly expensive to heat one’s home. The world’s water supply is shrinking, which will cause increased food and water costs. And the cost of gas has risen dramatically in the last few years. While Americans have faced some of these economic pressures before, the costs have always been temporary. This time it seems that the high prices may be here to stay. The time is right for the environmental movement to bring about institutional change. |
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< | Of course, people will shrink from any scheme of life that is alien to them (89). Thus, any change will need to feel as familiar as possible in order to find acceptance. There is a familiar form of conspicuous consumption the environmental movement can attempt to bring back*: the wasting of time. |
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> | People will shrink from any scheme of life that is alien to them (89). Thus, any change will need to feel as familiar as possible in order to find acceptance. Luckily, there is a familiar form of conspicuous consumption the environmental movement can attempt to bring back*: the wasting of time. |
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< | Conspicuous leisure has all of the elements it needs to be just as successful as conspicuous consumption of goods. With conspicuous leisure people are able to display their wealth through how much time they can afford to waste, instead of how many useless items they can afford to buy. Community gardening, washing dishes by hand, and ironing shirts (instead of dry cleaning them) all take time, and are not particularly productive (as evidenced by the fact that there is a less time-consuming alternative to all three activities). |
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> | Conspicuous leisure has all of the elements it needs to be as successful as conspicuous consumption of goods (while having the added bonus of relying less on quickly-diminishing natural resources). For example, with conspicuous leisure people are able to display their wealth through how much time they can afford to waste, instead of how many items they can buy. Community gardening, washing dishes by hand, and ironing shirts (instead of dry cleaning them) all take time, and are not particularly productive (as evidenced by the fact that there is a less time-consuming alternative to all three activities). |
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< | Conspicuous leisure also allows for hierarchies of taste, since how you spend your time is as much of a marker of your wealth as the fact that you spent it at all. Just as it is a marker of class that you know to buy organic sheets, so, too, can it be a marker of class to wash those sheets by hand. |
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> | Conspicuous leisure also allows for hierarchies of taste, since how you spend your time is as much of a signal of your wealth as the fact that you spent it at all. Just as knowing to buy organic sheets is a marker of class, so, too, can it be a marker of class to wash those sheets by hand. |
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< | Conspicuous leisure is a plausible alternative not just because it allows for a way to appeal to people mired in a culture of conspicuous waste. It also is familiar: people have been practicing conspicuous leisure for centuries. The need is not to create a new form of conspicuous waste out of whole cloth, but to put increasing focus on an already-existing form of conspicuous waste. Veblen notes that retrogression is easier to achieve than progression (86). Since conspicuous leisure is already familiar to most people, it won’t be difficult for them to revert back to it. |
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> | Conspicuous leisure is a plausible alternative not just because it can appeal to people mired in a culture of conspicuous waste. It also is familiar: people have been practicing conspicuous leisure for centuries. Environmentalists need not create a new form of conspicuous waste out of whole cloth, but instead put increasing focus on an already-existing form of waste. Veblen notes that retrogression is easier to achieve than progression (86). Since conspicuous leisure is already recognizable to people, it won’t be difficult for them to revert back to it. |
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< | Changing the focus from conspicuous consumption of goods to conspicuous consumption of time may not seem like a large change, but even seemingly small changes in the structure can have far-reaching effects (88). And, granted, hordes of people working in community gardens likely won't eliminate global warming any more than hordes of people buying organic produce. But the change in behavior away from consumptions of goods will be a beneficial one. At the very least, it’s a pretty good start. |
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> | Changing the focus from conspicuous consumption of goods to conspicuous consumption of time may not seem like a large change, but even seemingly small changes in the structure can have far-reaching effects (88). And, granted, hordes of people working in community gardens likely won't, on its own, eliminate global warming any more than hordes of people buying organic produce will. But in order to save the environment, the change in behavior away from consumptions of goods is a necessary one. At the very least, conspicuous leisure is a pretty good start. |
| | *I don't mean to imply that conspicuous leisure ever left popular consciousness, but rather that it has taken a backseat to other forms of conspicuous consumption.
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