The state of the world in 2004 is clearly not good. No matter from which angle or from whose point of view, the world is a fragile place. Trivial or commonplace as such a statements may seem, they cannot be ignored, unless global conditions are allowed to get even worse. The US-based Worldwatch Institute has just released its 2004 report on "Progress toward a sustainable society" titled "State of the World 2004". Published since way back in 1984, it would seem that progress is slow or elusive; the world on an annual, quickening slide towards a precipice, the limits of growth.
This years' report is focused on "The Consumer Society", examining the daily lifestyle decisions that affect "not only our own communities but also the world as a whole" (p.xv). One of the most important findings in the report should give us all an all too good reason to step back from our lifestyle routines, to reflect upon where these routines and ruts are leading us. Simply stated, once basic needs and an average level of material comfort is attained, the "returns" from any additional consumption diminish. Owning three cars in an over-sized suburban home filled with dozens of electrical appliances, weekly shopping sprees to the mall and regular trips towing the boat to the hill cabin, all that does not translate into proportional increases in happiness. Still, more is better when staring from a low talk-off point; beyond a certain level of material well-being, more can truly be less, not only individually but also globally. The more consumed for now genuine reason, in the absence of actual need, the greater the environmental impact, from air and water pollution to loss of biodiversity, increased occurrence of "natural disasters, to rises in crime and social deviance. Where consuming more has become a life purpose in itself, entire societies, especially such as in the USA (and increasingly in Canada as well), social and cultural relations and most importantly, democracy itself become commercialized, stripped of all remnants of meaning. The final chapter of "State of the World 2004" is titled "Rethinking the Good Life", in which a key question is ask: "How much is Enough?" The authors recognize that strong social ties are a major contributor to a country's development (p.170), closely associated with social and environmental advantages. Choice can equally mean choosing consume less, differently or even not at all. Perhaps one of the strongest messages the book conveys is how unbridgeable global divides have become. Our affluent societies. now stuck in an operation mode of uncritical globalization, under the fetish of money and consumerist lifestyles, are pushing carrying and reproduction capacities of ecosystems towards overkill. Our realization of where we are heading is blurred from view by the distractions and smokescreens of the info-tainment industries. At the same time, often just outside the gates of the all-in beach resort we flee to escape from the stress we call career, family or neighborhood, under-5 mortality levels refuse to decline, environmental health in the slums takes a heavy toll on life expectancy rates and daily choices revolve not around what to buy but are preoccupied with dilemmas of not being able to afford any real choices.
