2018-03-06
Chris Johansen
I imagine that most Greens would at least have an inkling that something is wrong with what is generally referred to as 'the economy. That it is biased towards enriching the rich. That there is something amiss in considering GDP to be the definitive measure of 'the health of the economy, and that a 'healthy economy will ensure 'trickle down of benefits to all. That there is something perverse about increased consumption of goods being a prerequisite to enhanced GDP. And that increased waste and pollution are a necessary consequence of increased consumption.
In this book Richard Denniss clearly spells out the perversity of our present economy, with respect to ultimate human well-being, concentrating on societys fetish for 'consumption. He likens this to an epidemic disease, and even an addiction, and suggests some pathways towards its cure. He has coined the word 'affluenza for this disease, which he defines as “that strange desire we feel to spend money we dont have to buy things we dont need to impress people we dont know”.
Denniss points out how society, in Australia and in most western democracies, has been swamped by the neoliberal (free market capitalism) paradigm, particularly in recent decades. Clever advertising, in the hands of corporations and media usually controlled by the 'one percent and reinforced by politicians of neoliberal persuasion, has successfully distorted the language around 'the economy and stimulated mass consumerism on an unprecedented scale. For example, it is relentlessly emphasized that 'the economy is something exclusively defined by GDP, the stock market and exchange rate, rather than having anything to do with how that money is distributed in society and the resultant well-being of all members of that society. The portrayed nexus between enhanced consumerism, increased GDP and a 'healthy economy inevitably results in an overexploitation of natural resources and increased pollution and waste. And it certainly does not lead to the well-being of all in society, as neoliberals might claim.
However, the author makes a distinction between consumerism and materialism. While the former is undesirable in that it drives all of the ills of over-consumption he argues that materialism can be good in that it implies a liking for, and attachment to, particular items, dampening the desire to discard or replace them.
Richard Denniss points out that this rampant consumerism is a relatively recent phenomenon. Up until the 1970s or so, before the mass proliferation of plastics, there used to be a much stronger culture of repair, re-use and recycle. Of course, the necessary austerity (except for the then 'one percent) of the 1920-30s depression era and the WW2 and post-war periods demanded this. But with increasing availability of cash and credit to much of the population, and sophisticated advertising campaigns, the culture of consumerism exploded. Essentially, Denniss proposes that we need to change this culture if we are to break this endless 'growth cycle – which actually must end at some time as natural resources are indeed finite.
The book is not a plea for self-sacrifice, to return to an era of enforced austerity, but a plea for people to really think about what is really important to them – activities likely to result in genuine and lasting happiness or an endless pursuit of affluence to conform to the prevailing consumption culture.
A first step is to redefine the economy in the eyes of the public, to mean a measure of the well-being of all people in society – parameters such as the Gini Coefficient (measure of societal inequality) and other sociological parameters need to take precedence over GDP and stock market levels, which essentially just measure how wealthier the wealthy are getting. Although underway, increased efforts are needed to convince the public that our present economic paradigm is ever-more rapidly soiling our nest, to the point where the well-being of all of us will inevitably crash (e.g. climate change). And, of course, the cultural challenge that prestige in society should not be gauged by extent of ones consumption, or rate of item replacement with the latest model.
All formidable challenges, but The Greens seem to have signed up to them. Thus this book is a highly recommended text to arm us in addressing these challenges.