Last week’s Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day, inspired me to write, ‘Finding a Sustainable Middle in a Country of Extremes‘.
Yesterday was Black Friday. Despite all my good intentions, I ended up joining the crowds at the mall. I have gotten much better at taming my consuming urges, to the point where I do not even feel the desire any more. To refuse my daughter, however, that’s another story altogether. She was so sweet, and I wanted to please her. Off we went, and ended purchasing all three items on her ‘need or rather want’ list. If I still had any remaining doubts on the extent of the challenge facing our society, the sight of all these people, happily walking from store to store, multiple shopping bags in hand, and on a mission to find more bargains, put an end to them.
Then, comes Adbusters, and its arresting Buy Nothing Day TV ad with a burping pig, calling for us to put a stop to our consuming frenzy. I did not know about Buy Nothing Day, until a few days ago. Now, it seems everywhere I turn, someone has vowed to not buy anything for a day, a week, and sometimes even as long as a year. You can make it as tough as you like, depending on your own fortitude. The Compact people are gathering momentum, and their two year old Yahoo Group of diehard non-shoppers is going strong with 8,500 members. There is also No Impact Man and his one year experiment.
From one extreme, to the other. Either you can shop till you drop dead, or you are to stop shopping, cold turkey. In both cases, I dare question the sustainability of such extreme behaviors. It is now an established realization, that we cannot keep on consuming the way we do, without jeopardizing life as we know it on this planet. What concerns me, . . .
La Marguerite 
I’m coming up on the end of my one year Compact challenge.
Since Dec 25, 2006, the only new items I bought were a tricycle for our son (after spending a solid month watching craigslist and kijiji like a hawk and not seeing anything suitable), a single new outfit for our daughter (back to school) and some yarn and needles (fell under my art supply exception).
Everything else was obtained used.
After analyzing each purchase to death for a year, I don’t think I’ll be able to return to my old ways.
Thing is, eleven months later, I’m feeling zero deprivation. I’ve found that if I wait, most things I want eventually fall on my lap somehow. The list of wanted things has really dwindled. The list of needed things is even shorter.
Thanks for your testimonial Malva. I applaud you, and I myself am feeling similarly after all that time simply observing what I consume on a daily basis. However, you and I do not represent the majority of America. The question I raise, is how do you take a crowd of unaware, consumption addicts and help them tame their habits to the point where our collective footprint goes down to sustainable levels? Most likely, a big part of the answer will have to do with economics and policy. And also a will from the business leaders to start manufacturing more sustainable products. There is also hope on the children’s front, with environmental education in schools planting the seeds of new behaviors, and children in turn acting as agent of change within their families.
One critical aspect that wasn’t clear in your analysis was the fact that millions of people have been addressing this issue in their lives for some time. As the commenter, Malva, above said, she has finished a one year Compact commitment challenge.
I read “Your Money or Your Life” and this started my process of non-consumption 15 years ago. My point is that many of us are primed and ready to take a leap that seems drastic to someone just beginning this lifestyle change.
Lastly, there is the drama that appeals to the activists among us to act out our most profound beliefs. The political concept of the <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overton_window””Overton Window” or the vanguard dragging something to an extreme, so that the norm gets shifted in that direction. My description may be simplistic, but I have already used too much space for a comment.
My Bad. I didn’t close the tag to activate the link in the above comment. I miss the preview option. You will have to cut and paste the link to the Overton Window definition. Sorry.
Lastly, my point in commenting can be summed up – it will help us to have all approaches talked about amongst ourselves. Radical approaches are as valuable as the conservative adaptations.
I get your point Kate, and it is not my intention to minimize the value of extreme non consumption, especially as a much needed counterbalance to out of control consumerism. It certainly has a very useful shock value, if only from a mediatic aspect.
Coming from France, where moderation is practiced as a virtue, I am reacting to the American tendency to think and act in terms of extremes, which to me is unhealthy. Food is a good analogy. We live in culture where people are either eating way too much, or starving themselves to death. Neither are healthy or sustainable in the long run. Very few people are able to find that healthy middle.
Also, being a recent convert, I am closer to psychology of the masses, and not as optimistic as you are in terms of what can be expected, behavior wise.
A big issue is of what is the most appropriate strategy to bring upon change in the masses. There is the possibility, that collective forces (including extreme non consumerism) will arise spontaneously and bring needed changes organically. Should the crowds be trusted, though? History shows, not always. This is where strategy, leadership, policy, science, business and crowd psychology need to come together. Hopefully spontaneous risings from the bottom up, will meet with top down initiatives to bring sustainable solutions.
As you can tell, I am right in the middle of an intense reflection. I find your input and that of the other commenters so incredibly helpful.