Consumption Theory - Economics and Ecology: United for a Sustainable World - page 60

point of view, while some individuals are satiated with a particular product,
which makes it noneconomic for them, there will be many others who not
only demand that product but also are willing to pay for it. Thus, the product
does not become a free good.
The upshot of all this is that all goods and services retain a positive price
(defined by economists as “scarce”), and every person is assumed to be perma-
nently acquisitive and in a perpetual state of dissatisfaction—a state that is con-
tinually reinforced by advertising. The economic assumption is that, regardless
of their income, no one can ever get enough of all the goods and services.
There are some powerful critiques of economics that follow from these
methodological observations. First, it justifies an incentive system wherein
people are always seeking better jobs and higher income. Second, compe-
tition as an ethic becomes the behavioral norm for both individuals and
businesses. Third, people are assumed to behave in certain ways for the con-
venience of the optimization techniques. Would not the reverse be health-
ier—with techniques chosen to accommodate an innate human nature? This
discussion of consumption raises fundamentally important issues, such as
the age-old distinction between competition and cooperation. The impli-
cations for the value structure and psychological character of all of us as
individuals are huge, and many of the themes of this topic low from these
ideas. For the moment, however, we turn briefly to the implications of the
macroeconomy.
Affluence as an Unmitigated Public Good
Whatever the situation with the makeup and motivations of individual par-
ticipants in an economy, or citizens in a society, there is the larger question of
public policy. How do we organize collective action in the necessary tasks of
managing the commons? What operating assumptions exist for government;
what direct the actions of public employees; or what constitutes the cam-
paign rhetoric of candidates for public office? A leader is effective only to the
degree the leader's stated operating principles mirror those of the populace
to be led, served, or represented. Ergo, the questions become the following:
How do the above assumptions affect the culture ? and How, in turn, does this
affect the institutions of that culture?
The answers can be stated in many ways. To wit, an effective leader is in
concert with public opinion. On the national scene, this can be said to be con-
sistent with “the national character.” For the United States, going back at least
as far as the early 18th century writings of Alexis deToqueville, this raises
long-standing questions of historic tradition. The search for the compatibil-
ity values not only captures the efforts of all seekers of public office but also
requires commonly accepted norms for the operation of government.