Transition to a non-consumerist society

[Ludi]

I posted the following in a thread on permies and thought maybe folks here would be interested in discussing these ideas:

There's somewhat of a quandary in that our culture is dependent on consumerism for the livelihood of the vast majority of the population. If we reduce consumerism, we're reducing a lot of people's ability to make a living. This is a difficult problem that should maybe be discussed more in permaculture - how do we transition to a culture which does not depend on consumerism without causing people to lose their ability to make a living? With the failing economy in the US and elsewhere, we can see the effects of people losing their ability to make a living. What can permaculture offer to people who are losing or who have lost their ability to make a living in the current culture? How do people who have lost their job or even their career due to lack of consumerism make a living in a permaculture context? This is a serious question. I'm not defending consumerism, I'm just pointing out that our present culture is dependent on it. How many of us have jobs which fulfill an actual "need" and not just a "want"? I know for a fact my career doesn't fulfill anyone's actual need; I work in the entertainment industry.

[Pakanohida]

I am finding that as I transition to a self-sustainable property via Permaculture that I have more time to spend with family, and friends actually doing things for *gasp* fun. As a result, I can only help to believe that as people transition away, and the amount of money they need goes down & the ability to do things they want goes up.

The problems of a person's ability to have a living has already been a problem that I have seen of society since the 70's as mills and plants closed all around me in the NYC area. Mahwah, NJ being a prime example. Car plant closed, left everyone jobless, they either got education & worked in new industries, or simply found other work. Recently I went back to the NYC area, and I was happy to see it becoming the Green Apple. Lots of small farms all over the place compared to what I remember. I do not believe transition will be as hard or difficult for humanity as a whole. The difficulty is in the people who are scared of change.

[Ludi]

The difficulty is in the people who are scared of change.

I am scared of change. I am scared of being without a livelihood. I wish there were more information about how people have transitioned to a permacultural way of life, what they used to do for a living and what they do now, how much they have been able to reduce their expenses via permaculture. Over all, I guess I would like more information about what people are actually doing to make this transition.

[ecodharmamark]

G'day Ludi

...Over all, I guess I would like more information about what people are actually doing to make this transition.

Here's one opportunity for you to gain more information regarding the concept:

Transition Network

Cheerio, Markos

[Ludi]

Thanks Markos, I'm familiar with the Transition movement, have been for a few years, actually. I'm asking people here on this messageboard what they are doing to make this transition.

[eco4560]

I joined the local Transition group for starters.
Planting more things I can eat, and learning how to grow them. I have a half formed EDAP in my mind of the things that I think I need to learn (how to butcher an animal, how to ride a motor bike, how to fix things). I'm currently taking a break from my career to retrain in a related field that will be more "collapse proof", and have started to explore what knowledge and skills I would need to keep working in my chosen profession once we hit the rapid descent side of the energy descent graph. Getting a library of reference books together. Solar power, rain water tanks...
That sort of thing. No bunkers or razor wire. I hope that the neighbours stay nice....

[LonerMatt]

I think you're mistaking consumerism for capitalism.

Consumerism being the idea that more, more, more, at any expense, is the most effective and efficient way forward. I would certainly agree such a view is prevalent, dangerous and outright stupid.

I would not agree that people's futures and material security, etc, on the whole, depend on consumerism. People can act as capitalists without being consumerists (ie, you can buy seedlings without buying every seedling you can cram into your yard).

I think, in Australia at least, capitalism and consumerism have a complex relationship - in the USA consumerism has essentially replaced capitalism, here I'm not sure, I certainly hope not, but I couldn't rightly say.

Capitalism, of course, provides it's own host of issues and problems, but I strongly disagree that reducing consumerism reduces a person's ability to make a living. Levels of consumerism do not affect me in any way (which is either/both a strength and a weakness).

[annette]

Hi Ludi

I have never really been sucked into the consumerist ethic. Even as a teenager I bought my clothes and things I liked from op shops and garage sales. Worked to provide security for my kids and now they have flown the nest I can focus on self sufficiency.

I have gone part time at work so I can focus on getting the food system up and running. At the moment I am just working on my own property, getting tanks set up, investigating solar, converting the pool into something more productive (may start a thread to get ideas), and basically learning as much as I can about being as self sufficient as I can be.

Going part time has given me more time to learn, read and just observe how nature works. I feel sometimes that I don't have enough time to do things I want to do, but more often than not I have found that be just waiting and watching i have found more efficient ways of doing things. For example, i have poor soil so must build gardens up. Instead of buying expensive garden beds and soil and everything else, like if I rushed into it, i have bought chicken wire from a garage sale, sourced cardboard from a friend for free, got shredded paper from work, found a young girl that provides me with manure for $2 a bag, so that my gardens are very inexpensive to set up. May not look all nice and neat, but they will be productive.

It's a long slow process but exciting.

[Ludi]

Levels of consumerism do not affect me in any way.

I'm guessing that whatever you do for a living is directly related to a basic need (food, clothing, shelter) and not to any aspect of unneccessary goods or services. Not many people can make that claim in the US. Australia must be different. In the US very few people grow food for a living, for instance, the farming population is 1-2% of the whole.

[Ludi]

I have gone part time at work so I can focus on getting the food system up and running. At the moment I am just working on my own property, getting tanks set up, investigating solar, converting the pool into something more productive (may start a thread to get ideas), and basically learning as much as I can about being as self sufficient as I can be.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience.