I am not an economist, nor do I aspire to be, though I have gained a begrudged appreciation in recent years for the dismal science. Many of the people who are most positively influencing policy decisions in the realms I am interested in are economists, though it certainly says something of how we live that economics is the language one must speak to influence change and development.
Anyways, this post is something of an aside, and it comes from having changed my surroundings a number of times in the last few years. What I have been reflecting on in relation to this has to do with monetary wealth, growth, and economic development. Specifically, I have been looking at my bills now that I Iive in Canada again after having been gone for most of the last two years, living in the ‘developing’ world, mainly as a volunteer, in both Thailand and Bhutan, and trying to survive off a budget of about 600 to 700 dollars a month, for everything: rent, food, travel, and all other expenses (not including getting to and from those places, which is by far the most expensive part). Now that I am living a similar lifestyle in Canada, my expenses are 4 or 5 times as much, and trust me, my apartment in Thimphu was probably the nicest place I’ll ever live. Or at least it had the best view.
Of course, 700 dollars a month is a whole lot for your average Bhutanese citizen. And I am fortunate enough to make a lot more here. But that’s not the point that I am trying to make. What I’m getting at is, relatively, the lifestyle is not so different (international travel aside). I mean, my quality of life was really just as good in Asia as it is here. So when I say economic relativity, I’m pointing out that, relatively, the amount one makes is relative to where they are. And I’m trying to emphasize the point that growth is not all that it is cracked up to be. Growth is founded not only on this relativity (in the sense that we need to grow individually to keep up with the expanding expenses of a growing economy), but also that this growth rides on the back of debt, and in fact debt necessitates growth. This creates an unhealthy spiral which forces us as a society to be so reliant on growth that we have often come to put it above almost everything else. But, relatively, we often aren’t that much better off than people in ‘poor’ countries like Bhutan. In fact, I have come to wonder who is worse off when you compare the poor of North America, people who can’t afford rent or proper food, and those of Asia, many of whom often still manage to get by on subsistence life-styles. Try living a subsistence life-style in North America in the 21st century!
This is a big issue, but let’s get back to the point that growth is like a drug that we in the West are hooked on. I’m certainly not the first to observe this (it’s pointed out quite clearly in this video here of Richard Heinberg who is explaining some of the findings of his book ‘The End of Growth’), but I still struggle with the fact that most of us still buy into the idea that somehow more growth means better lifestyles. All kind of evidence points to the fact that, beyond a certain amount, more money does not equal more happiness. And when we realize that more money can only come at the expense of finite eco-systems (the true source of all wealth), we have to acknowledge that in fact more growth may in fact be detrimental to our long-term health and happiness. Not to mention that of our children, whose future is so obviously already being jeopardized by our high-growth, high-consumption, high-interest lifestyles. I don’t think it’s too much to say that we are mortgaging our futures, and that this is not a good thing for those who have to pay the bills (which may just be us, as well as our children, if things keep going the way they are going).
So, again I come back to one of my main arguments in this blog: our system is broken, and apparently we have no idea how to fix it. We are so deeply in debt that we cannot but continue to pile money into the furnace in order to keep the whole thing going. And when governments can no longer pay their bills, as has already been happening, the system starts to break down. Relatively, then, in the long run, we in the wealthy and western world may just be worse off than our poorer neighbours. If you look at a place like Bhutan, where people still retain the knowledge of how to grow their own food, and live in (mostly) environmentally sound ways, if things do start to fall apart, they may indeed be better off than we are, as all those apocalyptic sci-fi tv and movies love to portray. Anyways, I’m not trying to be a doom-sayer, I’m just making the argument that we ought to strive for real sustainability, and economies founded on as much on well-being, community, virtue, health and wholeness, beyond just money. And not only might this help us help ourselves, but it could help create more of a balance for our ‘poorer’ global neighbours whose lifestyles our growth-obsession is threatening in far too many ways.
Anyways, this post is something of an aside, and it comes from having changed my surroundings a number of times in the last few years. What I have been reflecting on in relation to this has to do with monetary wealth, growth, and economic development. Specifically, I have been looking at my bills now that I Iive in Canada again after having been gone for most of the last two years, living in the ‘developing’ world, mainly as a volunteer, in both Thailand and Bhutan, and trying to survive off a budget of about 600 to 700 dollars a month, for everything: rent, food, travel, and all other expenses (not including getting to and from those places, which is by far the most expensive part). Now that I am living a similar lifestyle in Canada, my expenses are 4 or 5 times as much, and trust me, my apartment in Thimphu was probably the nicest place I’ll ever live. Or at least it had the best view.
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| The view from the front door of our townhouse in Edmonton |
This is a big issue, but let’s get back to the point that growth is like a drug that we in the West are hooked on. I’m certainly not the first to observe this (it’s pointed out quite clearly in this video here of Richard Heinberg who is explaining some of the findings of his book ‘The End of Growth’), but I still struggle with the fact that most of us still buy into the idea that somehow more growth means better lifestyles. All kind of evidence points to the fact that, beyond a certain amount, more money does not equal more happiness. And when we realize that more money can only come at the expense of finite eco-systems (the true source of all wealth), we have to acknowledge that in fact more growth may in fact be detrimental to our long-term health and happiness. Not to mention that of our children, whose future is so obviously already being jeopardized by our high-growth, high-consumption, high-interest lifestyles. I don’t think it’s too much to say that we are mortgaging our futures, and that this is not a good thing for those who have to pay the bills (which may just be us, as well as our children, if things keep going the way they are going).
So, again I come back to one of my main arguments in this blog: our system is broken, and apparently we have no idea how to fix it. We are so deeply in debt that we cannot but continue to pile money into the furnace in order to keep the whole thing going. And when governments can no longer pay their bills, as has already been happening, the system starts to break down. Relatively, then, in the long run, we in the wealthy and western world may just be worse off than our poorer neighbours. If you look at a place like Bhutan, where people still retain the knowledge of how to grow their own food, and live in (mostly) environmentally sound ways, if things do start to fall apart, they may indeed be better off than we are, as all those apocalyptic sci-fi tv and movies love to portray. Anyways, I’m not trying to be a doom-sayer, I’m just making the argument that we ought to strive for real sustainability, and economies founded on as much on well-being, community, virtue, health and wholeness, beyond just money. And not only might this help us help ourselves, but it could help create more of a balance for our ‘poorer’ global neighbours whose lifestyles our growth-obsession is threatening in far too many ways.
