Counsel for Getting There - Economics and Ecology: United for a Sustainable World - page 173

Con : As this topic implies, environment is the area in which we prac-
tice the most strident informed denial. Any argument that a healthy
economy is needed for a healthy environment must single-mindedly
assume that money is the answer to everything. Human health
matters little. The quality and type of energy used is unimportant.
Community cohesion makes no difference. And, most importantly,
the environment is seen as an external thing to be taken for granted
or managed as opposed to our vital source of support that is to be
nurtured, both economically and psychologically. It is in this arena
that our overriding message must be delivered: Permanent, linear, eco-
nomic growth is biophysically impossible.
Personal
Pro : Economic growth supposedly creates opportunities for careers,
higher income, and the good life . Culture, the arts, and personal
enrichment are acknowledged as important, but economic success
is assumed to be a necessary precondition. Although one can act
altruistically or serve the community, philanthropy requires that
economic wherewithal must come first.
Con : On the one hand, great philanthropists and foundations provide
compelling examples that superficially support these arguments.
On the other hand, many of the fortunes that could be referenced in
this regard were built on the backs of the poor, and often accompa-
nied—or even caused—a great deal of the inequality and class con-
flict. Their foundations now succumb to the paradox of purporting
to treat the misery they initially caused. The main problem that most
of us can relate to, however, is the mindset.
If we accept the mandate that more is better and continual
growth is essential in forming our personal philosophy of life, then
we mount a treadmill from which we can never escape. If the prem-
ise of our superficial, materialistic culture is that you always need
more to be successful, enough will never come. Acquisitiveness
supercedes cultural and artistic expression. A workaholic approach
can dominate rest, relaxation, and building personal relation-
ships. Cultural icons tend to be wealthy people, and getting ahead
becomes an obsession. But, when an economy dominated by such
personal agendas fails to perform, the personal sense of bitterness
over the lack of purchasing power and the accompanying loss of
control accentuate the palpable inequality. This combination of fac-
tors not only serves up a recipe for collective cultural and politi-
cal conflict but also imposes damaging effects on the individual
psyche from the assumed message of social failure.