post consumerism: the new cool?

today i was feeling lazy, so i decided to stick in an article i wrote a while back (not on this blog though) about the need for new ideals for humanity to strive towards. there are some cool examples of new icons and ways to alter behaviour…

In conversations about climate change, talk often leads to the same dead-end: we need to drastically alter the way we live on this planet. It is clear that the planet cannot continue to support us living the way we are, let alone the billions of humans predicted to join us in the next decades, nor the growing middle classes of India and China. We may be able to imagine what kind of changes people need to make, but just how do we start to convince people to make those changes?

Western culture, which pervades the globe, is all about consumerism. Being rich, living in a large house, driving a flashy car and buying lots of ‘things’ are regarded as the pinnacle of success. We are pummelled with advertisements all day which promise that money can buy us happiness. The rich currently have the largest carbon footprint and it is they who need to change the way they live most desperately. But how does one reverse decades of consumerist conditioning, convincing us that more money, more ‘things’, mean more status and more happiness?

Creating a new mindset is the key. A mindset in which your worth as a person is judged not by your possessions or wealth but by the good you do for the planet and for fellow humans. One pathway towards this new mindset is to create new icons and celebrities for people to look up to. Chuck Feeney is a perfect example of a new icon. He made a fortune in duty free shops and was one of the richest men in America. But he gave away over $3.5 billion to a philanthropic organisation he set up called Atlantic Philanthropies, keeping just $5 million for himself, his wife and his 5 children. However, he kept this all quiet until 1997, when a lawsuit between him and his former business partner threatened to make it all public. He is quoted as saying that he didn’t feel there was any need to ‘blow his own horn’. Chuck Feeney doesn’t own a house or a car. He travels by subway when in New York and flies economy class. He carries his papers in a plastic bag and wears a cheap Casio watch which he says works just as well as a Rolex. More importantly, he has said, “Wealth brings responsibilities. People have to determine for themselves whether they feel an obligation to use some of their wealth to improve life for their fellow human beings rather than create problems for future generations”. He also hopes that his example will encourage the wealthy to give more of their money away and derive the same pleasure he has from helping others.

Another way to change people is through influencing the way they see themselves through the eyes of others. The State of California in the United States has recently passed a law requiring all new cars to have stickers detailing the car’s smog and global warming ratings on a scale of 1 to 10. The higher the rating, the better the car is for the environment. Hopefully this will serve not only to educate consumers but also to consider what other people may think if they choose a car which is damaging to the environment we all share.

Caring about the environment and one’s fellow human being should be the new ‘cool’. Finding ways to promote this lifestyle are not impossible. New icons like Chuck Feeney and tools like emissions stickers can pave the way for a new ideal and something to strive towards in the fight to save the planet.