The Compact blog
sfcompact.blogspot.com/

Jenn,

While limiting consumption resonates with me, I think we should just as wary of the extreme of buying nothing, as we are of the extreme of rampant consumerism. Ideas like "buy nothing year" are fine on an individual level, but they don't scale well at all -- if a significant percentage of the population did this regularly, the economy would suffer, layoffs and unemployment would rise, and more people would be forced to limit their expenditures, which makes the economy suffer more and the cycle goes on, getting worse and affecting more of the general populace with each iteration. It's just as dangerous as over-consumerism.

I personally just try to be a responsible consumer. I look at packaging and determine what I can put in the recycle bin vs. what I would need to throw away (i'm always thinking of limiting what ends up in landfills). I either ask myself "do I really need this?" or "can I give away or sell something else in exchange for buying this?" Between my floppy-eared best friend and I, we don't generate much trash -- I usually only need to put the recycling and trash out once per month. I prefer purchasing music (something I do a lot) in a digital download form vs. CDs, because those CDs will take up far more space and cost much more (from an economic as well as environmental perspective) to manufacture. I use things like Freecycle.org when possible. I save a significant portion of every paycheck, which, aside from making me feel a bit more secure, also helps the economy in an indirect way by allowing banks to operate better by funding more (hopefully responsible) loans.

I think this is really where we can do the best good -- trying to find the right balance of consumerism vs. thrift. Too far on either extreme isn't such a good thing when applied to significant percentages of the general public; moderation and "mindful consumerism" really is the key.

Regards,

John

Falling You - exploring the beauty of voice and sound
www.fallingyou.com

OH YEAH! This is a GREAT idea! I've been doing this as much as possible for a while. I pay minimal rent for minimal space (or do work-trade when traveling). I buy food when the food i buy is of higher grade (organic, fresher) than what i could dumpster, and otherwise am happy dumpstering (pineapples, avos, things with rinds, produce for juicing, etc.). I buy a bar of sulphur soap every few months and I like Weleda toothpaste a lot. I get my clothes at swaps or find them, mostly. I don't see anything wrong with "extreme" behavior in terms of trying to put the brakes on capitalism and the destruction it leaves in its wake. And in any case, the folks hopping off the capitalist train can afford to be fairly hardcore b/c that train's moving so fast. I feel the least we can do is not lend our personal momentum to that vehicle. None of the adjustments i've made to my lifestyle have been the least been onerous for me. in fact, it's made my ride a whole lot more fun and brought me into contact with some of the greatest people in my life.


: )

So, my husband and I had a big ol' discussion the other morning about all this. He also disagrees with the Compact. His argument is that we need to use our economic power to push companies in the direction we want them to go- by buying solar panels, wind generators, electric cars, etc. The technology moves faster and in a certain direction when there is a percieved demand for it- and that demand only registers when we vote with our pocketbooks. I agree with this, and it has been my philosophy for some time now.

Personally, for the Compact, I did write a list of exceptions for myself that I think still line up with the basic philosophy- I will still purchase entertainment, particularly live music and performances, and downloadable music. I think that supporting artists is very important. Also, it is assumed that participants still pay rent, utilities and transportation costs. So, Buy Nothing is really a misnomer.

I think people have various reasons for doing the Compact. Simplifying one's life is a stated goal on the blog. But also just slowing way down and considering where everything you purchase comes from, what the full ramifications are of your consumerism, etc. There is also the point (check out freeganism) that there is so much waste in American society, that one can easily live off all the discarded food and other tangible goods that folks would otherwise throw out. Our society is wasteful and inefficient. I think cutting the waste is something we can and should do- and it won't hurt the economy... it will feed the homeless (see Food Not Bombs). Personally, I just want to stop automatically buying stuff without thinking about it. Sometimes stopping completely is the only way to notice how often you actually purchase things.

It's true that this could not be taken large scale very well. How can we all buy used clothes only for more than a few weeks before there are no more used clothes? Sure- it's hardly a complete social revolution. But it is an admittedly fringe way to redefine your personal consumerism and lessen money's grip on your life. It also does greatly reduce one's personal carbon footprint and save you some cash.

I must admit, I haven't held to it very well for a variety of reasons. But I think it's a great jumping-off point, and a great temporary exercise to pull yourself out of the buying and selling cycle for a bit. I like to fast twice a year too. A way to clean out your mind a body a bit. I think of this the same way.

Another aspect of this that I like is the idea of creating and strengthening communities based on this philosophy. The idea is to trade, barter and share to get what you need, then buy used if you must. If I have tons of oranges on my tree- they oughta go to someone. When everyone is thinking in terms of sharing community resources instead of just individually buying what they need from a store- I think we benefit. You don't need as much money when you pool resources.

Speaking of the economy, I think we need to consider all the ways it can grow. I am not an economist, so I may be out on a limb intellectually with this one, but hear me out. Our consumerism has created a culture where if something breaks, it's cheaper to buy a new one than get the old one fixed. This is a disaster environmentally, but I suppose it keeps factory workers employed. However, it's also developed a lack of skilled laborers and service people. I had a sewage pipe break recently, and the plumber said he was incredibly busy because there aren't enough plumbers in LA to fix all the busted pipes. What if we shift some of our consumerism into services rather than into purchasing goods? That will certainly keep folks employed, with decent wages, and reduce our amount of waste.

I agree that extremes are bad, and with a powerful economy, we have the opportunity to greatly change the world. But so far, our consumer culture has changed things largely for the worse, I think. We have to come up with alternative ways to grow our economy, including cutting waste and fostering a more equal distribution of resources.

Thanks for reading the longest post ever.