Surviving Capitalism (Not) : The High Price of Materialism

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Saturday, March 13, 2010

The High Price of Materialism

An interview with Tim Kasser from New Left Project.

I...think that there are alternatives to capitalism that can promote better mental health, as well as greater social cohesion and ecological sustainability. To me, such economic systems need to re-shift their values so that they do not create priorities for wealth and profit and economic growth, but instead recognize that the real purpose of an economy is to provide people with meaningful work so that they can have the material things they need to live, in a way that doesn’t compromise the ability of other people, other species, or future generations to meet their needs.