Tomorrow (4/8) & Final Lecture Notes on "Affluenza"

TOMORROW (4/8): As of now (Wed. 9AM) I have heard from and given the ok for three paper topics. I expect to hear from everyone else by tomorrow, and if I don't, I may put you on the spot in class to give a topic. Yesterday, I realize I may have gone through some of the questions on the midterm too fast. If you did not get an answer or want me to take another look at any question on your exam, I will be happy to do so. Remember, it is important to get the correct answers because I will be re-asking many of these questions on the final exam. Also, remember that, since everyone missed question #38 I decided to discount it and give everyone the point. That is the reason for the +1 added to what I orignally figured as your final score.

Tomorrow we will be seeing another video, "Advertising and the End of the World." I have decided NOT to do a family activity in connection with that. I will highlight some points about that next week. And next week, we will begin to discuss our next book, "Consuming Kids." I'll give you a reading assignment tomorrow.

Finally, don't forget about Essay II, which I handed out yesterday and is due next week Thursday, April 15th.
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FINAL LECTURE NOTES ON "AFFLUENZA"

Chapter 28: Political prescriptions

A. Michael Jacobsen opens with a simple, but profound, truth -- "Our country is set up structurally to oppose voluntary simplicity." (p. 221) The authors then warn the reader that this is going to be a longer chapter, and it will acknowledge something that I've stressed all along -- social ills such as affluenza won't be cured by personal action alone.

B. So, let's touch on some of the larger, institutional actions they see as necessary to really come to grips with this disease.

1. A very important step would be to allow workers to take back some of the TIME they've earned due to increased productivity, as Juliet Schor reminds us. See top paragraph, p. 224. Government will have to intervene as it did back in 1938 when the 40-hour work week was established.

a.) It is amazing how far behind the rest of the world (and not just rich countries) we are in terms of public policies designed to guarantee adequate working conditions for families. See bottom p. 226.

2. Work sharing, especially during recessions, makes sense. And they also talk about the importance of universal health care and some other tax proposals.

C. The authors admit up-front that given all this stress on cutting back, spending less, slowing down, etc., that this may cause our economy to collapse. Perhaps (but I would add, if it does, perhaps that means we need to build something new based on new principles.) Other countries seem to have made peace with slower or no growth. For example, note what a former Dutch prime minister said -- see bottom p. 232-233.


Chapter 29: Annual check-ups

A. Back to the medical analogy: we need to give our communities and society annual check-ups such as Seattle (see p. 238). The "Fever Index" is interesting.

B. Need to ask ourselves basic questions, as if we only had another year to live: are we really doing what is important?

C. A national check-up could be facilitated by more realistic measures of health and wealth (rather than GDP). They make a very good point about all the negative things the GDP counts as positives. (See last paragraph, p. 240) The GPI (Genuine Progress Indicator) factors out the negative and measures things that should really count. (p. 241)


Chapter 30: Healthy again

A. In this concluding chapter, the authors underscore our need to acknowledge how sick we are.

B. We need to "Dream a New Dream" -- not a dream of more and more, endless economic growth, etc., but a dream of restoring QUALITY to our lives. Really a dream of simplicity. They, then, quote Betsy Taylor of the Center for a New American Dream. "In Taylor's new dream, the word SIMPLICITY means far more than cutting back on consumption. It means cutting back on unwanted thoughts, waste, stress -- scraping the artificial and superficial in favor of the authentic. It's not just simplicity of stuff, but also simplicity of purpose, and clarity of mind. It's about being content and connected, rather than confused." (p. 245)

C. And one final observation from "Moving at the Speed of Quality:" "In a way, quality is to affluenza what garlic is to vampires. Durability, appropriate materials, and good design eliminate the need for mountains of stuff, without reducing overall value. It's a different kind of math, which asks not how MUCH, but rather how WELL." (p. 246)
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That wraps up what I planned to say about "Affluenza." Make sure to incorporate the above notes in your class notes. See you tomorrow.