Is rampant consumerism destroying the world?

[Throck]

Do we really need all the shit we accumulate while some exist on nothing? Think of the energy consumed on useless stuff we collect.

[ret5hd]

1. Yes.

[markie]

2. yes.

n/t

[magicarpet]

3. Question is,... is it sustainable that the world population,...

.... copy, mimic,... and duplicate American capitalism and consumerism ?

The burden on natural resources and then trash, waste, and open dumps indicates we must change course quickly.

[brooklynite]

4. What will you propose to eliminate?

[Hugh_Lebowski]

7. The desire that people have to accumulate useless garbage, esp. the brand new kind

That's the hardest, but also the only way to turn it around.

[Throck]

8. People have to become self aware of their impact.

Otherwise selfishness will persist. People have to develop values on their own.

[-misanthroptimist]

9. We can start with automobiles. That would help greatly in several ways.

From there...maybe we could outlaw planned obsolescence.

Those are my two suggestions.

[spooky3]

12. Actually, cars last much longer than they once did.

But I would like to see the infrastructure bill pass and the development of more rail options.

[marie999]

27. We keep out cars until they they just about fall apart.

We own 2 Kia Optimas with lifetime warranties. We had another 1 but we gave it away when it had 164,000 miles on it.

[Throck]

13. Automobiles piss me off.

Too many bells and whistles. No one builds a basic economical fugal simple vehicle anymore.

[Diamond_Dog]

16. My sentiments exactly, Throck.

[-misanthroptimist]

19. We're on the same page there, Throck.

I'm thinking of making my next vehicle a very old one. One I can work on myself. One that isn't connected to the internet. Just a damned car or truck.

[Lancero]

28. Legally, they can't.

A lot of 'bells and whistles' are required for modern safety features. A lot are also needed to meet mileage mandates and emissions standards.

A better solution would be to forgo personal automobiles entirely, in favor of a robust public transport network, or perhaps a bicycle.

[PortTack]

5. Yes it is

[hlthe2b]

6. No & this past year has only underscored that imo. Most won't break the pattern for decades to come

but I'm done with it. I will buy new items only when I've found a way to recycle or repurpose the old.

[spooky3]

10. I'm glad that being untrendy has become fashionable again.

Buying clothes that are thrown out after a year is unsustainable. Buying well made classics and wearing them until they wear out is better for the pocketbook and for the earth.

Same with trendy home furnishings.

This is probably wishful thinking on my part.

[NewHendoLib]

11. we - humans - are destroying the world.

we are wasteful, greedy, narcissistic - our egotism, lust for stuff and power - our greed...

it's why we can't have nice things. We have some serious design flaws.

[Throck]

18. Ruled by our misguided egos.

[superpatriotman]

14. Rampant MONETIZATION

vs consumerism

[zipplewrath]

15. Yabut

I was struck during the early days of the pandemic just how much of the economy is dependent upon discretionary income. Bars, restaurants, tourism, theater, music, and really the list goes on. What we accumulate is a small fraction of what we consume and discard. If we only consumed what we required to survive and stay healthy, there wouldn't be alot for many of us to do. Worse, what can start out as a frivolous pursuit, can turn into basically life saving capabilities. What is really destroying the world is basically greed, that breeds war.

[GoneOffShore]

17. This is a rhetorical question that pretty much all of us know the answer to.

And you are correct.

[tirebiter]

20. None of what I've read on this thread even comes in the top ten of bad things

Compared to:
1, Trump
2. Trump
3. Trump
4. Trump
5. Trump
6. Trump
7. Trump
8. Trump
9. Trump
10.Trump
Even war has been overshadowed by the Trump pandemic. Up until Trump we were living in the Garden of Eden. That must never be forgotten.
Now go forth and do whatever it is you want to do.

[underpants]

21. Yes. That's a big reason for all the storage units.

You’d think people would have reflected a bit during the shutdown and seen how ridiculous all the endless shopping was buuuuut Nope. They are pretty much right back at it.

[joetheman]

22. Yes!

No!

[slightlv]

23. downsizing

It's one of the reasons so many of us are having troubles trying to downsize to smaller homes, etc., as we grow older. I can't believe how much "stuff" I just left behind in the old house... and I'm still trying to make my way thru all the junk I brought with us. First we downsized from 3800 sq ft to 1300 sq ft. Then upsized to 1800 sq ft. And I swear, it STILL looks like a sears and roebuck catalog in here!

[taxi]

24. I believe it is a symptom,

but not the reason we destroy the world. We, the afflicted portion of the world's population. There are very few innocents. We all contribute. We have to, don't we?

[Lancero]

29. We can still minimize our contribution, if we cared enough.

And not just within our lifetimes - Choosing to have fewer kids, or better yet none at all (Much like with pets, adopt instead.) would significantly improve our planets longevity.

[taxi]

30. We all do on our own level, and populations, vital statistics, and such are public programs

China had a one child policy - there are likely to be some good studies made from that. But, yea, each of us can do just a little bit better.

[a kennedy]

25. AND JUST PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE STOP WITH THE ADVERTISEMENTS.......UGH...🤮 🤮 🤮

[Ron Green]

26. Economic Growth is Unsustainable on a Finite Planet.

Unless there’s a shift away from innovation and development to maintenance and repair, we are done.

Actually, we’re probably done no matter what.