A great, concise, and clear explanation of global capitalism and its effects on the environment (which includes the human body):
The Story of Stuff
Check it out and pass it on.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff
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7 comments:
It's a comment on consumerism, not capitalism. Check your definitions.
Anonymous, would you care to explain the difference between the terms as it applies here? I happen to think the two are intimately related, especially in practice.
The terms are different but related. Capitalism involves the selling of goods and services and consumerism deals with buying goods and services.
The video is a message from a consumer to other consumers. Consumers can, and have to, limit the impacts of capitalists on our planet becasue we can't depend on the government to.
I consider "consumerism" to be an artifact of global capitalism: Demand for consumer goods and consumerism as a lifestyle is promoted by capitalism.
Capitalism definitely involves buying stuff as well - think of all the companies that are involved in the making of something like the computer I am typing on; they are all buying and selling to each other before the product hits the retail shelf.
Consumerism is by no means the same, or comparable to capitalism, these are completely different concepts, though naturally interwoven... the impact on captalism by liberalism (or neoliberalism to keep it american) have created a level of wealth in the western world, that have had this effect on consumerism, and let's just agree that it is a negative effect.
But the whole point is that you can have neoliberalism, capitalism and consumerism without the negative effect... Annies message is one of sustainability, zero waste etc... Annie is spreading values, to make consumers aware, she attempts to make it desirable, hip, cool, smart, fashionable to buy and consume the newest hippest thing; sustainable green stuff... and she is doing a good job.
I've never heard of a non-capitalist society in which consumerism even existed.
I disagree with Olin's claim that capitalism can exist without destruction.
And neoliberalism? Neoliberalism is destruction.
I haven't claimed that capitalism can exist without destruction - nothing can exist without destruction. My claim is that sustainability can be - and indeed increasingly is - a unique selling proposition, it has become a positive parameter when trading on free markets... and my comment was that Annie is selling exactly that - we can wish for peace
on earth, better weather and cleaner public toilets, but wishful thinking isn't enough to drive change... making sustainability sexy on the existing market makes a lot more sense, and is an achievable goal.
Liberalism vs collectivism would be a digression, and as i am sure we wouldn't agree, let's just agree that we won't, and leave it at that.
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