A Rant from Mrs. F

My wife, who goes by the nom de plume of Mrs. F, got a bee in her bonnet this morning as we sat after breakfast with our dueling laptops, and typed up this corallary to Old Fogey's (her mother's) post from yesterday:

The problem is with the focus on consumption

As Old Fogey points out, with so many jobs moving overseas, who will be around who can afford to purchase products? I would argue that the fundamental, underlying problem with our economy is that it does depend on consumption. That used to be less of an impact when the world’s population was smaller, natural resources were more abundant, and our technology was not as “advanced”. We’ve always considered the natural resources of the earth as free for the taking. And with “improvements” in technology, we are able to reduce the number of human hands and minds that are involved in creating these products.

And how have we benefited? Sure, you can go to Walmart and buy some cheap “consumer goods”, but am I the only person who feels physically queasy in those cheap big box stores? Walmart is often vilified (for good reason), but it is merely a more ruthlessly efficient and larger version of the operating model of most big box stores. The cold, impersonal anonymity of glazed-over shoppers pushing carts laden with cheap crap they probably don’t need, the bored and surly attitude of staff who are underpaid and denied benefits, the rows and rows of products created through the sweat and tears of poor people around the world working in unsafe and unhealthy conditions – how is this a benefit to society? How is this good for our souls? Sure, everyone likes to get a good deal on a new grill, but at what cost?

Of course, it is easy for me to lob complaints from my safe well-paid lifestyle. Not everyone has such luxury. But, I for one do not need or want the super-discounted “consumer goods” that are produced and sold from misery. I want to know that when I hand someone my money I am receiving a product that was created with respect for the environment, by human hands and minds that were safe and adequately nourished. That is nearly impossible to know for sure if you participate in buying products from the global economy. The only solution is to buy from people you know, to shrink your “consumption circle” to remain within your local economy.

I agree with Old Fogey that we would be hard-pressed to organize our economy other than on a capitalist model. However, we do not have to accept the role of “consumers”. (God, I hate that word.) We can choose to examine our purchases for their impact on the world, to examine our “needs” to see if we really want to make a purchase at all, and to focus our dollars on investing in businesses and practices that we want to see continue. If you can afford to buy local produce or products created by neighborhood artisans, then by all means do so. You can’t always avoid buying from the global economy. (After all, who has a neighbor who makes refrigerators in his garage?) However, through conscious purchasing we can reduce the impact of our consumption.

Wouldn’t it be great if our economy, rather than depending on consumption, depended instead on ensuring that all members of our community have a good quality of life? Surely there is enough work to be done that we ought to be able to keep all of those unemployed folks busy once their jobs are outsourced overseas.