(cut trident :face-approve
Our problem is - .......plans are entirely lead by Reduction, and not by any consideration of what we want to save, what kind of society we want, and what has real value...
this is not austerity - just fiddling with loose change.
Our use and abuse of fundamental resources (materials, water, land, food, human creativity) is the Elephant in the Room.
Climate change comes on top of reckless and profligate wastes of resources and energy, and although 'carbon footprinting' purports to address global warming, it speaks nothing to the waste of materials and effort implicit in every part of the 'capitalist' world system....for one thing 'carbon footprint' is framed entirely within the concept and context of Market Economics - these theories and value judgements are culturally, technologically and temporally contextual
archaeologists should know this better than most...and know that as a species (rather than just a nation, economy, culture etc) we are inherently bound within a causal ecological system with many other participants. Rather than draing an arbitrary boundary around 'economics' and limiting it to contextual items such as money, ecologists and theorists have tried to expand direct market principles to account for the work done annually by the 'natural' world in our capitalist market economies......guess what? - annually, trillions are owed, and have built up to staggering proportions (even when compared to a 'high-fliers' bonus...)
This illustrates that our 'Economic Realities' are just as fictional as the (allegedly) departed Animal Spirits. It ilustrates what is 'real/enduring' and what is 'contextual/transient' - taht our economy and culture are only where they are because of teh deffered debt we accured whilst causing exxcseive damge and through our profligarte exctraction/accumulartion of high effort/energy materials.
The parts of this planetary debt that, by shear force, do become visible within the busy lives of our species are also displaced from one group of humans on to another -e.g.:'cheap' products, 'cheap' labour, environmental degre4dation here for profits gained elsewhere, wage salves, and war
Consumers are offered, and are bedazzled by, a million glittering baubles - whole tracts of productive human life and creative ingenuity is dedicated to producing, selling and finally consuming Stuff, (Newer Stuff, Better stuff, stuff with extra high definition, When & Where YOU want it, all year round, wireless, packaging, package, pack...)
"whats wrong with wealth?" - whats right with profiting from tat? ---
its not about reduction - its about realising what should be valued at core....
(in the words of R4 Andy Hamilton "if i am in debt, i don't just stop buying toilet paper and wipe my arse on the wall!")
Resource usage must become more austere - this is the more pressing debt, with greater consequences for the whole world population, and yes,even our own individual everyday western lives.
A radical well msut be drawn upon, not more token shuffling and credit balancing acts - some industries and jobs need to change if an Over-Consumerist society is to re-adapt itself to Real Resources based economics....unlike the Con-Dem proposals, this dramatic alteration would eventually secure a better future for all.
