s 1,2

economics

ecosophy

Patterns of Consumption

January 7, 1995

Q: Does Prout advocate decreased consumption by people in affluent countries as being necessary for alleviating population and environmental problems?

In order for these problems to be alleviated, there must be a balance between production and consumption. Consumption cannot become so excessive that others are exploited in order to meet the needs of some segment of society. So, if there is a transition to a Proutist form of government in which environmental problems are resolved, there will have to be a change in consumption patterning. Not necessarily a decrease, but a change.

For example, the banana is grown in the warmer climates, but it is very popular in the northern countries. These countries are often very affluent and so, taking advantage of their affluence, they take so many bananas that all of the lands in some areas are simply used for banana production, and the bananas are then taken to the northern countries. But those same bananas may, in fact, be for the consumption of the local people. And that land on which the bananas grow is very fertile land that could, perhaps, grow crops of various sorts for the local people. So if the economic atmosphere on a world basis were more balanced, there would be greater production of local goods in the warm climates, and so less of the productive mechanisms would be available for the exploitation of the banana. The banana may become somewhat more rare in the northern climate, as it is not indigenous to that climate. It may become a bit of a delicacy. But if the indigenous foods are enhanced and consumption of those foods is increased, then there may be other foods which may be more readily available at a more reasonable price. For example, the apple which grows commonly, or the orange which is produced, may be more commonly available than the banana.

So it is not to decrease the consumption but to change the patterning of the consumption. The banana may still be available; there may be an exchange of goods. The people in the warmer climate may enjoy the apple as a delicacy in that climate, coming by import from the northern climate, and the northern people may enjoy the banana as a delicacy coming from the southern climate. But it will be more balanced, rather than one area being utilized merely for the consumptive desires of another region.

Now, this will create a tendency towards environmental balance as the local people will tend to utilize, most commonly, those goods which can be more locally produced. And much of the local economy will be directed towards the production of the basic goods for the consumption of the local people, and only a portion of the economy will be for the exportation of locally produced items which are unavailable in another region. In this way, there will be local emphasis, local production, and local consumption with the items coming from another region as more of a delicacy, more of a specialty.

Population problems will sort themselves out. They need not be an item of concern. And the patterns of consumption which destroy the environment, they must be changed. This does not mean decrease in consumption. It means change in the pattern of consumption, and change in some of the goods that are consumed so that there is no environmental exploitation. For example, if the organ of a tiger is needed to make the medicine in a particular place, though that is seen as essential, the tiger is quickly being destroyed, and so the pattern of consumption is exploitive. It would be best if the scientists of that region, who use the tiger essence in the formula, research how the formula can be made with maybe a synthetic product or a substitute herbal product that does not require harm to the tiger. It may be that the formula with the tiger essence involved will not be available for the traditional medicine unless the scientists produce a synthetic or substitute item. It can be done, only a little effort must be made. The tiger will then no longer be the victim of those persons who wish to make a profit by selling the parts of the tiger to the medical persons. Thus the exploitation of the tiger will come to an end. So the people will not be deprived, but their pattern of consumption must change. They must find a comparable substitute that will not be environmentally hazardous to the life of an endangered species.

Like this, much of the exploitation and damage that is now being done may be mitigated by alterations in the pattern of consumption. The standard of life of human beings need not diminish, only it must change. If it is thought that only the redwood makes superior building material, but the great woods are in danger, there are no longer sufficient trees to build with the redwood, then a substitute material must be found for building. Like this, the products that are used may change, but the quality of life need not be diminished. Rather the quality of all people must come up by changing the patterns of consumption.