Confronting Consumption

Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Science, Biological Sciences, Environmental Science, Nature
Cover of the book Confronting Consumption by , The MIT Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9780262303675
Publisher: The MIT Press Publication: June 21, 2002
Imprint: The MIT Press Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9780262303675
Publisher: The MIT Press
Publication: June 21, 2002
Imprint: The MIT Press
Language: English

Comforting terms such as "sustainable development" and "green production" frame environmental debate by stressing technology (not green enough), economic growth (not enough in the right places), and population (too large). Concern about consumption emerges, if at all, in benign ways; as calls for green purchasing or more recycling, or for small changes in production processes. Many academics, policymakers, and journalists, in fact, accept the economists' view of consumption as nothing less than the purpose of the economy. Yet many people have a troubled, intuitive understanding that tinkering at the margins of production and purchasing will not put society on an ecologically and socially sustainable path.

Confronting Consumption places consumption at the center of debate by conceptualizing "the consumption problem" and documenting diverse efforts to confront it. In Part 1, the book frames consumption as a problem of political and ecological economy, emphasizing core concepts of individualization and commoditization. Part 2 develops the idea of distancing and examines transnational chains of consumption in the context of economic globalization. Part 3 describes citizen action through local currencies, home power, voluntary simplicity, "ad-busting," and product certification. Together, the chapters propose "cautious consuming" and "better producing" as an activist and policy response to environmental problems. The book concludes that confronting consumption must become a driving focus of contemporary environmental scholarship and activism.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Comforting terms such as "sustainable development" and "green production" frame environmental debate by stressing technology (not green enough), economic growth (not enough in the right places), and population (too large). Concern about consumption emerges, if at all, in benign ways; as calls for green purchasing or more recycling, or for small changes in production processes. Many academics, policymakers, and journalists, in fact, accept the economists' view of consumption as nothing less than the purpose of the economy. Yet many people have a troubled, intuitive understanding that tinkering at the margins of production and purchasing will not put society on an ecologically and socially sustainable path.

Confronting Consumption places consumption at the center of debate by conceptualizing "the consumption problem" and documenting diverse efforts to confront it. In Part 1, the book frames consumption as a problem of political and ecological economy, emphasizing core concepts of individualization and commoditization. Part 2 develops the idea of distancing and examines transnational chains of consumption in the context of economic globalization. Part 3 describes citizen action through local currencies, home power, voluntary simplicity, "ad-busting," and product certification. Together, the chapters propose "cautious consuming" and "better producing" as an activist and policy response to environmental problems. The book concludes that confronting consumption must become a driving focus of contemporary environmental scholarship and activism.

More books from The MIT Press

Cover of the book The Inversion Factor by
Cover of the book Happiness by
Cover of the book Designing an Internet by
Cover of the book Genetic Twists of Fate by
Cover of the book Moving without a Body by
Cover of the book Ebola's Message by
Cover of the book Hanan al-Cinema by
Cover of the book A Play of Bodies by
Cover of the book Recoding Gender by
Cover of the book Cultivating Food Justice by
Cover of the book Synthetic Biology and Morality by
Cover of the book Connectedness and Contagion by
Cover of the book Treading Softly by
Cover of the book Getting Through by
Cover of the book Sound Unbound by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy