Conversation

People who want to theorize post-consumerism fail because they fail to identify a strong positive-valence, positive-feedback alternative to "convenience" as a driving attribute of material life. Behavioral attribute, not value/virtue. "Clean" or "environment friendly" ain't it.
7
42
Replying to
This is really interesting and very relevant to some discussions I’ve been having with friends in the #transitiondesign community. I fully agree that transition from consumerism/capitalism to someting more sustainable can’t be solely based on virtue, sacrifice or enforcement.
1
Replying to and
However, I don’t believe we only consume to maximize the attribute of convenience. Thus, the challenge is more complex: to find (and play with) as many alternative postive-valence, positive-feedback attributes as the ones that currently keep us consuming.
2
2
Replying to
I think it's the main one. To the point that it trumps other ones when there is a contest (eg. people going to a foreign country and eating at McDonalds rather than deal with the inconvenience of figuring out interesting local options). Convenience is code for "least resistance"
1
3
Replying to
I think it’s the main one in something like “western capitalist modernity.” Arguably, it doesn’t always/everywhere has been or will be like that.
2
1
Replying to and
What I like about your argument is that it takes the imagination to a different result than the currently standard de-growth, slow-down version of sustainability transitions. Something like a sustainable, consumption-side of what people call “accelerationism.”
1
Replying to
Definitely! I’ve been thinking that post-capitalism (or, rather, post-western capitalism modernity) could/should be imagined like ‘forking’ civilization in many different directions at once and the route you explore her could definitely be one of those forks. :)
2
Show replies