FOLLOW-UP TO "ESCAPE FROM AFFLUENZA" & AFTER THE BREAK

Notes on "Escape From Affluenza":

First of all, let me say that there is much to admire about the personal stories of those who have embraced "voluntary simplicity." I was especially impressed by a few of these stories. Dick Roy, former corporate lawyer and now director of the Northwest Earth Institute, and his wife are real models of simple living. It is hard to imagine that they are able to "reduce, re-use, and recycle" to such an extent that they produce only one can of garbage a year! Most of us throw out at least that much garbage every week. You also have to admire Ron Simmons, former Microsoft engineer, who abandoned a promising career in computers to become an actor and also do a whole range of volunteer activities. And then there is Ming Chen and his family, but it was noted that their teenage daughter was rebelling against their frugal lifestyle. Calvin DeWitt, the University of Wisconsin environmentalist, made a very good point about how our social and economic activities are so incompatible with natural systems, like wetlands, that recycle everything naturally.

But for all these inspiring personal stories, there was LITTLE ATTENTION TO BROADER INSTITUTIONAL CHANGE. For example, the "tight-wad" couple in Holland talked about reducing the number of cars you own and drive to zero, instead of just scaling back to one vehicle and driving it less. That, of course, is easier to do in Holland because of the wide availability of public transportation and support for other alternatives such as bicycling. It is tough, if not impossible, for people in America to give up their automobiles because of little public support for such a move. The bulk of transportation dollars go to road and highway construction and maintenance. And our whole pattern of urban and especially suburban development is largely based on the private automobile as the main means of transportation. Also, from an economic standpoint, more money can be made selling cars rather than expanding public transportation, so maybe we are going to have to change such incentives significantly.

I was particularly impressed with Alan Durning's (of the Worldwatch Institute) account of all the things that made possible him having a cup of coffee in the morning. Remember the point I made earlier about INSTITUTIONS BEING THE REAL ACTORS IN MODERN SOCIETY -- that his act of making coffee was the act of that agricultural system in Colombia, the act of a shipping industry, the act of power companies to roast the coffee beans, etc., etc., etc.... So, if you want to change any aspect of that system -- say reduce coffee consumption -- you are going to have to take into account the impact on those other interconnected institutions.

Finally, I really appreciated the quick overview of American history. Ms. Urbanska noted the deep roots of "simple living" in our history. But significantly, after almost two decades of economic depression and war in the 1930s and 40s, we were ready to produce and spend and consume, that is, "grow the economy." A growing economy, higher and higher GDP, more stuff, became the overriding goal of our society. But, of course, this has not made us any happier and perhaps we are overdue to consider scaling back, emphasizing QUALITY of life over QUANTITY of things. In this context, I believe it is significant that overwhelmingly people who choose a simpler, less-cluttered life are happier, even in the context of our materialist, consumer society.

PLEASE INCORPORATE THESE COMMENTS IN YOUR NOTES. ANY QUESTION I MAY ASK ON THE FINAL EXAM ABOUT THIS VIDEO WILL COME FROM THE ABOVE COMMENTS.
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After the break:

***I will hand back your midterm exams, of course, during our first class after the break. And we will go over it question-by-question.

***I will also have a write-up of our next essay assignment, which will involve that xerox handout you already have, "A Slowdown That May Slow Us Down."

***We will wrap up "Affluenza," at long last, and move on to "Consuming Kids."

***Finally, by APRIL 8TH (THURS.), I want to hear from each of you about what social problem you plan to write about for you paper.

Have a good and safe break. See you in April.