Our obsession with economic growth is deadly | All Hail The Planet
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- We are surrounded by stuff. We buy and buy and buy - it’s the foundation of how our economies run, how they grow.
But all this buying, all this economic "growing", is devastating people and our planet. We are in a dangerous spiral of out-of-control resource use.
In the third episode of All Hail The Planet - a series delving into the social, economic and political forces undermining meaningful global action on climate change - Ali Rae speaks with economic anthropologist Jason Hickel, economic sociologist Juliet Schor, and development economist Ndongo Samba Sylla.
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We consume so much because we are so empty inside. Before discussing ecological destruction and economic inequality lets discuss why our souls are so sick. Unhappy people are perfect consumers, never satisfied. Happy people are not consumerists. Forget the ecological problem. Unless we "fix" our inner permanent voids, emptiness and dissatisfaction we will continue buying conmpulsively and in the run destroying ourselves, our fellow humans, animals and the planet. But it all starts with a sick soul.
Shall we all run around with plant or animal skins as clothes and eat veggies and hunter/gather again? People will moving to space in the next thousand years if we keep up our tech society and do not destroy ourselves with nukes
@@laurab9518 It's not necessary to revert to being cavemen. Leading a simple live in an advanced civilization seems to make the most sense here. Less time working to fulfil basic needs and feed consumption would mean people could focus on more spiritual aspects, like meditation. Mental health would greatly increase with less stress from the daily "grind" we're all forced to do to simply meet our needs. As the mind and body heal, people would be less driven to dissatisfaction, and less likely to have "sick souls".
Laura; nobody is talking about being so extreme !
I’ve reduced my consumption considerably and still have everything I NEED vs everything I want
Your comment is quite hyperbolic
The problem is convincing people they should be satisfied with just as much as they need, and no more. This suits you fine. It won't necessarily suit everyone. @@cris471
Very well summarized!
Wonderful program ❤️. I am feeling problem of social obsolescence in my home too. I am being mocked for keeping Old fashioned tv and keeping old , small phone.
Ignore the haters. If it does the job, why replace it?
Ericsson 301i
2001
Battery is NiMH so still holding charge fine.
No WiFi!
Recycle bin Cabot9 circa 2015 for WiFi access. No sim!
On second replacement lipo battery. Original OEM lasted from 2015.
I get you, I only stopped using a 2010 S1 Galaxy (hand me down) because the mobile phone towers were upgraded and it stopped working :p My 2011 Macbook air is still great 11 years on (new battery, new charging circuit). Shout out to ifixit...
My smartphone is 10 yrs old and still has the original battery which still has 4+ hours of talk time...
Congratulations. You are not being mocked by me.
It is capitalism system that pushes consumerism culture. In every country's economy and growth of GPD is measured by retail industries. For instance, you will hear we are in recession because retail sales are dow x%. Thus, we should pump out stimulus money to keep the engine of consumerism going.
Less buying means more money in our pocket so that should motivate us to buy less. Sometimes i still buy stuff that caught my eye but only when the price is reasonable. Less is more, I definitely can do with less stuff…
Degrowth is not something for us to fear. Ironically, if we learn to live within natural limitations, we can actually have so much more.
As you ancestors did during millenia with Life spans of 30 years
@@erick2214 that was median. There's evidence to suggest that those who survived childhood lived long, if strenuous lives.
@@eemoogee160 the problem is the topic itself the implications...
I am from cuba and this country is the biggest ecological power you could ever imagined
If you have enough money pay a visit to this country...not Habana but sant Cristi or Cienfuegos...then you Will understand the price of a non productive society...its not about money or poor people...its the social thinking that you are in debt with them because you have more than them
@@erick2214 I apologize that I do not truly understand the point you are trying to make. My point was that a larger population puts pressures on resources that inhibit our potential to have rich and healthy lives in many ways.
Maybe you should read what Elon Musk has to say about this or study some history of how civilizations come and go or better yet real economics, capitalism vs Communism (collapse of the USSR) and socialism (the life style of Cuba and Venezuela). Something this misleading, greenie fake propaganda pushes.
When I walk in the store I see future landfill items in the shelf. Nothing promising recycling anywhere. ♻️. Sad.
The irony of being fed a travel ad for Las Vegas right before watching this, was lost on UA-cam's algorythms I assume...
I've been driving a Toyota tercel for 30 years and it still performs very well. Why buy a new one that won't last as long?
You go stuff you go it’s like saying you go girl you go 😉😉🤔🤔😮😮👍😀👍😀go stuff 👍👍
20:07 -Here where they talk about de-growth, and that not every sector needs to grow, we should put money into those areas that need it, this is true, but how do you convince stubborn uneducated societies that want to maintain the status quo? For example, in Canada, you cannot suggest that Alberta, a province with an economy built entirely on oil, try to diversify or change, because they stubbornly do not want to. It's all they know, and it is all they care to know, and suggesting otherwise to them is like putting a gun to their head, they get defensive to the point of violence. How do we convince people who don't care about the environment?
(I am aware that not "all" Albertan's are like this, so save that criticism, but it is the overriding culture of the place)
It's like climbing a mountain, at some point in time, you run out of mountain, and you're left with a descent into the valley. Physics 101.
Advertising is aimed at women. Women do the shopping. I never heard a guy say "lets go shopping." Women love spending money. .... blame women.
Except all the CEOs of companies and the advertisers are men, as are the majority of the low income workers in the global south so who is exploiting who?
All Humans are technically exploiting each other as we all want better and easier lives with more and we will do anything to get it, even if we think of ourselves as the good ones or the caring ones etc. We wouldn't trade our place with a potentially enslaved factory worker in the third world, otherwise we would be doing it. The saga of modern economy will peak eventually anyways through our choice or it hitting the fan, people just hope it happens once theyre done and lived their best life
That reporter is a paragon. She rocks love her.
We need a Degrowth Movement.
I've watched a dozen videos like this in the past year, all calling out the same problem. And just like this one, none propose any kind of meaningful concrete steps to solve it. It's always vague "stop doing X", "start doing Y" yammered in the faces of the people you admit don't have the power to effect change while people who do have that power almost certainly choose not to watch content like this.
The concrete solution is to vote both politically and with consumer dollars. The concrete solution is to consume less. That's not vague that just covers a lot of very specific actions. What their specific actions are are going to vary from person to person but I think that we can assume that most people can extrapolate the low level goals from the high level goals
The rich and powerful won't change on their own. We will have to make them. 💪🏾
Sorry, but how can it be anything more than 'Stop doing X', start doing Y'? Like literally, what is a possible alternative?
@@snowstrobe I think the point was that only governmental systemic change will have a meaningful impact
Consumerism is truly evil. The problem is the mindset of the gov and companies around the world. GDP NEEDS to keep increasing if not we are in a "recession". The obsession for growth is absurd and unsustainable.
Social obsolescence = Darwinian evolution and status chase (ie. not running in that game means you're like a peacock without tail feathers) to which you really have to be high status on some other metric to get away with not playing that game. It also selects rather strictly for trait agreeableness, ie. people who will chose getting along and embodying the flavor of the week over logical consistency.
Excellent information and education. ❤
Victimhood is so strong in this video, it pervades everything. Nothing is our f fault we are responsible for nothing the big bad corporates are to blame for everything.
Its part of the narrative (socialist, leftist, Marxist etc) but this does not mean there arent points that are true or semi true and they are pointing out good problems to be looked into.
People get too narcissistic thinking they and their kind can solve and (centrally plan) the entire existence od humanity, thinking they go the whole picture correct and can plan for every occurrence that pops up. Hubris knows no bounds
Great
Its as simple as wants vs needs. in this perpetual growth economic model we are convinced the things we want are more important than the things we need (collectively). The trifecta of capitlalism, consumerism and individualism all build interdependencies and drives to ensure each one produces the ouputs required to reinforce them. One of the pillars of capitalism, each individual acting in his own self intersest in a free market is the great con of the last few decades.
Perpetual growth is the foundation of rising standards of living. Without growth, you live worse than the people who came before you.
@Anthony Morris you watched the video right?
@@MarkTaylor Yes. I listened to every Left wing dogmatic word. What's your point?
@@anthonymorris5084 Why is it left wing? I hate the left, but I agree with some of this video. We can't keep growing forever. The world has always changed over time. Things are sure to change in our lifetimes. That's reality. Realistic
@@CBT5777 Anti growth rhetoric stems from people who have no understanding of capitalism. Imagine if the people of the 1850's or even the 1930's demanded an end to growth. Your life today would be seriously compromised and in jeopardy. Anti growth policies are a curse we place on future generations.
As long as you can put a shovel in the ground and make stuff, growth continues. It's a huge planet that we've barely begun to exploit. In the future more and more things will be recycled, and we will likely become an even greater space faring people. Humans are problem solvers and innovation is in our DNA.
This won't get many likes because no one wants to admit they are part of the problem.
Yep, cognitive dissonance is innate in many so called "socialists, liberals, environmentals, progressives etc" and how ever many other fun names they can come up witu themselves for their ego. Victimhood mentality means you aren't the victimizer, you're the victim of course!
Development allowed the human population to expand, without development the population contracts. That is what it is, and humans will face that on our terms, or at random, or any where in between. We are lucky to live in such an interesting time of humanity.
By u.s. standards me and husband are poor
But we have a house thats paid for, a rental house thats paid for and not a dime of debt.
We didn't get here because of a lot of money we bought boarded up houses that took 7 yrs to fix and we paid as we went
Now, at times we wish there was something we wanted to buy because it would give us something to do
We dont want stuff we want a project to work on
The narrative of unequal exchange is an example of pure blissful ignorance. It states that if a worker in the U.S. gets paid $20. Then a worker in the Congo should also get paid $20/hour. It conveniently ignores the fact that the worker in the U.S. has 10 times higher cost of living. It also ignores the fact that if the worker in the Congo charged the same amount as the worker in the U.S., the worker in the Congo would never be hired, and this is worse off for everyone. It is only under the voluntary exchange of capitalism, that everyone can be better off. We can only deceive ourselves by thinking that the forced exchange imposed by big government fascism will turn the whole world into one big happy family. We will all embrace and sing kumbaya while big brother watches.
Based answer, you get it. Its good videos like this expose the problems that do exist but their solutions are not totally helpful and may be actually malevolent. Lots of conveniently leaving out counter arguments or murderous history of central planning...
The side effect of fiat money
Amazing..... keep up your good work......
True
So you say at 1:50 Quatar is a major consumer of oil? I'd say they're bang in the middle (according to Worldometer they are 59th). Please check your text
Wow very good and informative video I definitely didn't expect this kind of content from AJ, you know, the "commie" type of content.
OU, please extend my fee extension or i shall have to consult with the royal family.
I think that downplaying individual action in this video fails to envision the effect such action has on defining culture.
We need Resource based economy
That gentleman made an excellent point that I never considered; As human needs are privatized in the market (like healthcare), we are forced to work and produce more than we may need to, or even are sabotaged in not meeting our basic needs in order to push excess growth in the economy(in hopes our needs are met).
Compulsory slavery is also another way to sum that statement up. Just that one singular point kind of just blew my mind 😅
same here
That one comment caught me as well.
This is why I’m a socialist
Im from the US. I grew up as a typical consumer from a poor household and we never "had enough" and always wanted. As an adult i have worked hard to achieve financial security and realized that that in a lot of ways my wants and "needs" were going to keep me poor. I haven't gone so far as to give up toilet paper, but i use squares of tshirt for papertowels and wash them. I am very crafty and all our furniture is either made or i have sourced from trash/thrift/hand-me-downs and refinished. I drive a cheap KIA when i could afford a used BMW now. We actually dont need a lot to live well and i use my growing wealth (personal savings and investments) to support several nieces and nephews who are growing up on welfare like i did. I am teaching them the dangers of consumption and the patience of money management.
So beautiful how you support your nieces and nephews
@@Sobermama927 Thank you. I am childless myself and approaching an age that having my own is not advisable. But I see my nieces and nephews as my own children and I think all children are valuable as future members of society.,I also hope to break the cycle of disfunction and give the knowledge I wish I knew earlier in life. Sometimes it is hard to "be mean" and break their heart saying "no" when they ask for Hot Topic things and remind them that one $60 shirt is the cost of a week's worth of groceries, a whole outfit at Wal-Mart, or a weeks worth of clothes from Goodwill.
Now we just need more people like you 😉👍🏻
Based. This is the way. You are an example of how we should all live. Live strong, my friend. Don't let the liberal doctrine beat you down.
I'm not even kidding when I say that the market crash and high inflation have me really stressed out and worried about retirement. I've been in the red for a while now and although people say these crisis has it perks, I'm losing my mind but I get it, Investing is a long-term game, so I try to focus on the long term.
I cannot focus on the long run when I should be retiring in 4years, you see l've got good companies in my portfolio and a good amount invested, but my profit has been stalling, does it mean this recession/ unstable market doesn't provide any calculated risk opportunities to make profit?
There are tons of strategies to make tongue wetting profit especially in a down market, but such sophisticated trades can only be carried out by proper market experts
I completely agree, I have been consistent with my profit regardless of the market conditions, I got into the market early 2019 and the constant downtrends and losses discouraged me so I sold off, got back in Dec 2020 this time with guidance from an investment adviser that was recommended by a popular economist on a popular forum, long story short, its been years now and I've gained over $850k following guidance from my investment adviser.
If that is the case, it would be an innovative suggestion to look out for Financial Advisors like Olivia Maria Lucas who can help shape up your portfolio.
Trying times are ahead, and good personal financial management will be vital to weather the storm.
Thank you for this tip. it was easy to find your coach. and I conducted thorough research on her credentials before scheduling a call with her.Based on her résumé, Olivia appears to possess a high level of proficiency, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak with her
"poor countries are developing rich countries, not the other way around" people acknowledge its an unequal exchange, but they never acknowledge who is really depending on who
The same can be seen on a smaller scale; employees are growing a company, since they actually make the products a company produces - not the employers who own it.
Or in society, it's mostly the larger lower classes serving the smaller higher classes.
It's just how hierarchic groups work, from bottom upwards through the ranks or classes.
Even in the army, the low ranking soldiers doing the actual fighting in freezing weather conditions, while some posh Ruperts are cozy and dry residing within their HQ.
What an awful take, just an absolutely ignorant take that ignores any and all reality.
In the last 60 years, you've seen the GDPs of rich nations go up by quite a bit, sure. Germany by 19 times, the UK by 43 times, the US by 52 times, France by 47 times.
Meanwhile India has went up by 85 times, Japan by 112 times, China by 295 times, and South Korea by 452 times.
Of the fastest raising GDPs today? 8 of the top 10 are in the "Poor southern hemisphere".
These poor nations aren't rapidly industrializing because the west are big bullies that are forcing them to do it, they're doing it because it's the fastest way for them to raise their standard of living.
EDIT: Oh, and it's doubly funny that Al Jazeera of all places is saying this as they're ran out of a nation in the middle of nowhere with absolutely nothing going for them that only became one of the highest GDP per capitas in the world by selling products to the rich western world.
@@moonmelons what an awfully immature take. The global south have the largest increases in GDP precisely because of where they were starting. Kind of like how my kid had the fastest rising income in our family this year since he finished university last year and got a job.
Further, the global south hasn’t had any choice but to participate in this model.
@@nicolajane7389 They were just starting?
These countries didn't just start existing 60 years ago, they've had civilizations for thousands of years. Unless you mean to say they just started following the lead of the rich west and trying to implement the tactics that the west used and go figure, it's working. I don't know how you'd call that "being exploited by the West".
But the biggest issue nobody wants to address is the fact that the citizens in the developing countries want what the west has, given thier population, should they get that then we now have way more people on a continent that will be contributing to crass consumerism. They will just by shear numbers bury the planet in pollution faster than west. We can’t say anything about controlling the population that’s going to want goods and the impact on the planet because that would be racist.
Decades ago I stopped celebrating Christmas for spiritual reasons. My family decided not to give gifts. This was a challenge socially in my culture and I had lots of social pressure to engage in it. Every organization has its own gift exchange. As I was trying to separate from it I became increasingly aware that the Holiday was entirely an economic construct in modern times. I had a job in retail sales once that was commission based. I once had to work the day after Christmas and did 9k in returns in one day. I was in the hole till August with any commission because that many people didn't like the gift someone went to the trouble of buying and instead returned it. I was disgusted with humanity that day. Why do we do this year after year? Why don't we just buy things as we need them? It's a religious system built in that socially enforces the idea that material things have more value than people.
That's why I like Thanksgiving better. It's about getting together with family and just spending time together and eating together. Of course over eating and wasting food is bad, but it doesn't have to be that way. However they just had to ruin it with Black Friday, and Thanksgiving day sales...
Yes, I know some who go shopping before the table is even cleared. Did they just give thanks for their blessings? Do they even know how to find that space of contentedness?
It's original meaning is the celebration of Mithra's birth. Those who feel no connection to his divinity should not celebrate it, as their presence and contribution is Ahriman like.
I can unfortunately relate Emily, I am being pressed to engage again 😢
We all think after WW2, colonization was abandoned. Think again! Think WB/IMF/G7...
This is why I hate obligations to give and accept gifts. It leads to all sides accumulating unnecessary items that will take up space, be sent to a third party, or simply trashed.
I have not worn an item of clothing given by a family member a year ago, since it is in a style I never wear and does not go with anything else I have.
Try substituting with cash or cash equivalents.
I just learn to accept and use their gifts to me. Also, the style mindset is also fueling capitalism. Just wear clothes for function.
Just wrap it up and give it back to them next year.
It's lovely to see an Australian accent in the hosts of Al Jazeera. Proud of my country to see us contributing to a reliable global news outlet like Al Jazeera.
Great work Al Jazeera.
“Poor countries are developing rich countries”. Thank you for saying that out loud.
I want to change I am sick of western myth of growth.
On Wednesday, I overheard my co-worker excitedly talking about all the things she was going to buy for Black Friday. She doesn't even have the disposable income to buy the stuff within her budget, but she has the credit cards to make up for it, and she can't pass up a "good deal".
It would be easy for me to think low of her, but I have to consider her background. She grew up in that in-between spot between low-income and middle-income. Her parents could not afford vacations and luxury goods, but they had enough money to buy her a used computer and low speed internet access. Through social media, she discovered how other people were living. She saw people with better houses, better cars, better clothes, better make-up, better toys, and better lives. I think this greatly affected her perception of "happiness", and ever since then, she has been obsessed with buying stuff, 99% of which she doesn't even need.
There needs to be a conversation about how capitalism and the media brainwashes young people into buying stuff they don't need.
I think it’s more than her background. Maybe she has a hoarding problem/ADHD. I was born in a household like her. I hoard stuff when I’m bored or stress. Sometimes I buy things right away sometimes I fixate on a thing I do tons of research before I buy that thing but it doesn’t even mean I really need it. This pandemic really affected my mental state and I’ve been hoarding and buying things I don’t usually buy before. Meanwhile my other siblings have better financial management skills than me since we were young.
@@whitepouch0904 : It's interesting that you mention adhd, because she has adhd as well.
That's not about as much as a background of an individual, but the systemic propaganda of capitalism. The only meaning in life the capitalist system offers us is "make money and consume". If you don't have money - "take credit and consume". Because that's the only way capitalism can grow - by increasing consumption. But capitalism has inherent contradiction: the drive to cut costs, and the labor cost is a part of that. Hence, when they gradually reduce work payment, workers won't be able to consume as much. The widespread consumer credit is a temporal band-aid solution to the lack of work payment. The capitalist system is unsustainable at this point. The next global debt crisis is looming.
We got a Shark Apex vacuum, the other one was about done, 13 years old. 245 online vs 400 at home depot. Our only cyber Monday purchase. Took the old one to best buy for recycling.
Planned obsolescence was a conscious decision that was made when it was realized that automation would reduce the number of days that people worked. That's right. The powers that be decided that people needed to work 5 days a week. Can't be letting people have too much time to think for themselves.
This video speaks the truth about the way of the real world. Our economic system is very oppressive and very cruel, even for those living in rich countries. Citizens across the globe suffer immensely and debts pile up like there is no such thing as tomorrow!!!!
Our system is a suicide-machine. We need to awaken to the reality of it.
I wonder about Qatar's state of consumerism esp. so with the football world cup that is ongoing in it.
Sister u should check ur makeup 💄 then u talk about climate change. If u truly believe what u say then u should follow first
Destroy capitalism
Consumerism leads to suffering at almost every level.
This makes me sick.
I hate that we are trapped in this system and are powerless to change it because the 1% just HAVE to make their profit.
The worst part of it all is that we are the majority, and could easily get rid of the parasites. This reality is depressing.
While watching this video, UA-cam showed me at least 8 adverts. It is ironic since it is about our obsession about consumerism :)
So Qatar will give away its wealth ?
I found that very ironic too! I was also disappointed that it wasn’t acknowledged that Al Jazeera’s journalism is subsidized by the government of Quatar from fossil fuel revenues…
And the presenter has probably 30 pairs of shoes, fly business twice a month and have her hair done at a 5 star salon. I don't pay attention to these virtue signaling anymore
@@carlosgomez-ct6ki will Europe return all the wealth stolen via colonialism, slavery and the pillaging of the Earth?
@@last_samurai6690 keep that in mind when you starve to death.
We are not just consuming things. What we are really consuming is our civilization's time on Earth. But Earth time is geological. In the life of the planet, our extinction will only be a small event (and not the most important or cataclysmic one).
The question of climate change is what kind of food will your family put on the table in 20 to 30 years? What will the weather be like? Where I live there have been such drastic changes in weather conditions in just my relatively short lifetime. We used to have 4 seasons, now there's basically 2, summer and winter with more extreme wind, hails, droughts and high summer temperatures. We are talking about our quality of life NOW, not some abstract distant philosophical future.
@sandponicsthis is such rubbish. If the temperatures don’t go down at night which is happening in many parts of the world, plants DIE
the cogwheel of fossil destruction this video sadly misses are fossil subsidies and other perverse incentives. the focus on individual responsibility means i'm constantly told to consume "green" things. don't fly, take the train. but then we as a society subsidize flight, for example through tax excemption of kerosin. so, if i don't fly, i pay more. including more taxes, which then are used to subsidize fossil fuels.
Excellent video, thank you. I was brought to this subject by another video on the early 2000's. It was called "The Story of Stuff" and is most likely still found here on you tube!? I have tried to spread the word and make people aware, ever since that time. Please share lots :)
I wish they would have acknowledged the contribution of the government of Qatar in funding Al Jazeera and how much of that countries revenue is from fossil fuels. Overall though this was decent journalism.
@@dougpatterson7494 It does raise some interesting questions and possibilities. For example, if the type of economic system changes advocated in this piece were to be implemented, that would negatively affect the need for fossil fuels and therefore the ongoing revenue of Qatar over the next several decades.
On the other hand, maybe they recognized there's not an unlimited amount of oil to be produced, at least not nearly as profitably as it had been up until the last few decades. And in order to facilitate at least some kind of ongoing profitability and their oil production operations, a reduction in the demand would help facilitate that.
Just a couple ideas off the top of my head..
Story of stuff is a great start to the wild world of consumerism. This doco delves a bit deeper. It’s a great follow up
3:00 this is so important and why does no one understand this. No consumers planned for the shift to single use plastic. That was entirely an industry decision. Ditto for most other horrendous decisions that led to overconsumption and degradation of the environment. And all that happens due to capitalism as a system. It requires infinite growth and we will not solve our problems until it is fundamentally changed.
The important ones are the 'useless stuff' and 'never use stuff'. People only buy useless stuff because they were tricked by marketing. It is consumers being lied to by marketing that's the problem, not capitalism. Capitalism should make products that can solve problems for consumers. Consumer should vote with their wallets as to which companies should go bust for failing to produce a good enough product. You need capitalism to keep supplying useful products but you don't need the marketing to brainwash consumers into buying useless stuff. People need some stuff to get on in their daily lives. They just don't need all of the excess stuff that is marketed at them.
@@longdang2681 I dont think it is right to place all the blame on the consumer instead of multi billion dollar companies with manipulative monopolized markets
@Long Dang capitalism makes corporations for exponential growth which drives the advertising and then the consumers to buy useless
@@Ravenousyouth I'm not putting all of the blame on the consumer. I'm saying that in a real free market companies are allowed to go bust. Anti uncompetitive company actions by consumers are allowed. In the market we have, companies are allowed to brainwash and miss-sell consumers via lies and miss-marketing. The companies that have uncompetitive products need to go bust, and the lies and miss-marketing needs to stop. Why else would consumers pay for stuff that they can't use? Consumers are being tricked and lied to? There are companies that correctly advertise their product to those that need the products. And then there are tobacco companies that target smoking at children. Consumers should be able to vote out toxic companies via their wallet. Currently this is not the case. The way marketing is allowed to exist needs to be changed. Only then can consumers have the data to make decent choices.
@@utkarshverma7 Advertising(broadcasting that you have a product to sell) is broadly OK. Marketing useless products to consumer via lies and miss-selling needs to go the way of the dodo. We still need capitalism to produce products that we need for our everyday lives. What we don't want is the toxic companies and marketing that is constantly trying to sell us useless stuff.
The world needs an overhaul..."endless growth" has always been a delusional myth, and this ought to be even more obvious in the context of the present.
Among many other obstacles to a better world, the reason the transition to a renewables-based energy system, which of course is difficult and will require fossil-fuel for a time, cannot be done within the parameters of a market-system. Same with assuring no one starves or goes homeless- the resources and technology exist to achieve this, but it is not profitable to shelter the homeless or feed everyone. That's why it isn't done, among many other things that could but don't happen, and too few of us seem to grasp this.
We need “planned economies”, an understanding of dialectical materialism & historical materialism, and equality.
So in other words, we need communism to save the world.
And the will.
@3:44 How exactly are people " forced" to become consumers? Sure we are conditioned and brainwashed to buy buy buy but the reality is that it's our choice. I buy EVERYTHING except food lol secondhand. I have a washing machine & a fridge I bought secondhand 7 years ago and it's still ticking along.. This breaks the production/consumer cycle and returns the local economy. All my food is locally sourced including meat. There is absolutely no rational reason why a family living in Sweden needs a bowl of bananas and mangoes at their table all year round. Madness!
Wow, I'm so glad we have the royal family of Qatar around to tell us that we need to stop economic growth to save the environment from the natural gas that made Qatar the richest country on the planet!
It's good to have nice stuff, but once you've got a microwave oven or fridge you don't need another one until they break, which should take a long time if they're well made. Expecting everyone to buy a new smartphone every six months is crazy. Who benefits from this wastage? Consumerism was very useful for a time, but isn't really now beyond replacement.
I Keep on Ensuring each set of my clothes Last At least for 10 - 12 Years. And People who know me are quite Amazed to see how come my Clothes Inspite of me wearing it for such long durations still remains as Good as Brand New..
I am still using all the necessary stuff that helps me in running my day to day life that i purchased in the year of 2004 and still running.
This is how i saved lots and lots amount of money as my savings which helped me during my Crisis Period / lock down period.
I don't unnecessarily buy products just for the heck of buying it
It doesnt matter, it is everything you do in your daily life, every breath you take within a capitalistic system will end up in harm for the planet. You whole way of life has to change, it doesnt matter if you keep your clothes for 10 years.
@@woozah8624 You are wrong. It matters. Every action matters. That's how cultural change happens
I really appreciate your action. Keep it up
Now we just need the entire western society to do the same.
Very honest of Aljazeera to acknowledge Qatar's part in this consumer madness.
I'd like to see the breakdown of resource consumption by class in the global north. Even in the rich countries, the bottom 50% only control 2% of the wealth
As good as this video is in pointing out critical truths, I'm not sure the owners of the means of production in this capitalist world we live in would even entertain these ideas. How do you propose to reach those elites who just see things in terms of profit and more profits?
Great question. We know now few if any of them will ever relinquish an iota of their power, without a fight. This is not good, as they proceed each day to consolidate that power ever-further. We are all in for a bumpy ride as this "way of life" unravels in he face of undeniable realities and limits to this delusional, growth-oriented model...what's required for life on this planet to have a chance is a modest, sustainable, resource-based-economy managed rationally and intelligently. This means mass sacrifice and cooperation, which I'm not sure we're capable of.
Revolution. Or in other words, we wait until things are so bad that the war between classes kills us all.
@@adamrosendahl8090 That would be a plausible option, but it's honestly a bit extreme, even for when things have gotten really bad (but it's a very realistic scenario nonetheless). I've scratched my head a bit on this one and I can't quite yet put my finger on a more plausible approach that doesn't tap into the primal instinct for survival. Is there even such an option at all?
I don't buy much these days. Airplane tickets, hotel rooms and food. This video misses a key problem, though. Overpopulation. We'd have a lot less of a problem with smaller populations.
You can only rightfully reduce the population without any problems to yourself by 1.
You only own your life.
Turns out we're in luck then
It's taboo to mention population. You will be called a Malthusian eugenicist. Even though that is the single most powerful and relatively easiest factor for us to address.
@@eemoogee160 People from the global north use far more resources than the global south, and it's the populations in the global south that are rising. The issue is excessive consumption in richer countries, not population growth in poorer countries.
@@XxPNExX1 the global south's population is migrating to the global north where they end up being part of the problem sort to say, the global north as you called them, there the population is declining for decades by their indigenous population despite it the population of those countries are keep on rising due to migration from south to north.
Agreed, we will consume ourselves to extinction. Workers produce the goods, build the houses, build the roads, transport the goods, heal the sick, repair what's broken, provide the services, work out the balance sheets, fight the wars, manage, clean and protect society. We provide the dual roles in the economy of worker/taxpayer, producer and consumer, service provider and service user. We are collateral, cannon fodder and consumers. Why do we live in poverty while the rich siphon our taxes and provide little use to society?
Pale brown Moses went down to Egpyt Land to let somebody's people go... keep him out of Florida, know you end there
@@dominicmoreno4662 Yes religion and bigotry do go hand in hand in the US...
@@steveparker8065 All religions are basically the Same. How did we ever expect lack of Reality would produce progress?
@@Diana1000Smiles Agreed, I like some of the basic teachings of religion. But don't believe in any omnipotent magical man in the sky. Reality is truth when we allow ourselves to be misled we live in a false reality.
Sorry, obedient, well-trained consumers are not likely to ever snap out of the delusions sold to them through neuromarketing. And, dividing populations politically is used to keep them from having any real control over how things work, as has been the way since before Machiavelli. Would be nice if people could see how cult indoctrination techniques are used to make them so obedient.
We're missing the point here: Social equality, wealth redistribution and basic human services are lacking because they're a threat to corporate profits. Exposing the problem (as in this and other videos) amounts to kicking a dead horse. We know the problems already, but are helpless to uncouple politics from profit. So what's the answer? Consumption boycotts? Minimalism in mass?
Degrowth! It is mentioned and elaborated (a bit) in the final part.
The innate desire for humans to compete with and outdo each other is the underlying topic!
Whatever economic model you try and put on the world population to create equality, our appetite for competition will push back against it.
There have been moments in history where societies have had this for a period, but they reach a failure point and decend into a fight for resources.
Yes. 😢
Fantastic, important video. Thanks for the spot on breakdown of our souless, empty, work, money, and consumption based society. Not a recipe for a sane, healthy species or planet.
The ONLY solution is a rapid Transition to a (Cyclic/Regenerative) Steady State Economy( no more boom & bust as a bonus), and no matter who is responsible for driving economic growth, whether Big Business or People, the only way it will change is by an informed public, because Gov and business ain’t going to change while we keep making them wealthy!. We the people have to realise that every time we buy( or don’t buy) something we are making a political decision that will affect change for the better, or for the status quo/business as usual!. 🌻✊🏽🌎
These boom and bust cycles are caused by the federal reserve. Big Banks engage in risky investments because they know they are too big to fail and know they will get bailed out.
I am not under how you thinking giving our corrupt and criminal US federal government more control of everything is a good idea.
When I worked in a production job it really set in that absolutely nothing will change until we stop endless production for its own sake. It sure creates a lot of waste and dressing that up to make us feel better is not solving the problem.
Then stop working and then making money, you will stop the consumption by your own and then lets see what happens...
@@erick2214 The point of this video was that personal habits do very little in the end. The producers of our lifestyle tell us to modify our consumption while giving us the same tools of our demise. Change only happens when WE change. Not as single people. You should watch this video, it covers this
and think about it.
That is how capitalism functions... they keep making harmful or useless things, creating useless jobs, all for a made up currency. Profits get syphoned upwards and labor is exploited. It's a system of theft, destruction and slavery.
@@chihirostargazer6573 so I+D IT industry, nano industry and robotics are useless ?
@@chihirostargazer6573 I can give you one trip to Cuba or Venezuela if you are interested in knowing about Capitalism, private property and Liberty
What’s ironic is that this video comes to you via an enormous technological infrastructure based on all the things the video is complaining about, which also gives some of the people in the video like the host a job and purpose.
Planned obseluence is the devil. Appliances are the worst!!!! My grandma has had appliances over 30 yrs and still working. They also make it so expense to repair you might as well buy new its crazy
You know it's good when Jason Hickel enters the conversation. It's sad that this guy flies under the radar of most people. That guy's ideas are revolutionary. Great piece. IMO this is one of the most important videos on UA-cam
Consume consume is all we do until there will be nothing left to consume but ourselves.
thanks for bringing this out, it's conversation that the world must address
Just catching up to this very informative video. Great job. It’s been going on for several years, as you just pointed out. (But-I often think about my late ww2 parents and... that they were always recycling their own stuff. They were just easily conservationist types, after the war years, and it’s needed badly today. (They were farming and ranching.) Thank you for this presentation.
I refuse to called my 🧸 bear as useless stuff... It's thing that calms me down.
It doesn't matter, you have endangered the planet...with your teddy bear, don't you see??.... 🙂
@@alinucalinuc4124 if thats your take from this video then i recommend you watch it again.
I appreciate documentaries like these by Al Jazeera, they're so well made and a good way to inform the public.
I genuinely do need running shoes every year because the soles are run down (I use them daily) but I did notice that the quality of the shoes is becoming worse every year and the same is true for clothing. The quality of most items is becoming shoddier leading to more trash and stuff that we need to replace. It sucks.
Cut down on meat, seafood, fast fashion, fast furniture, constantly updating phones and excessive consumption and we'll be half fine.
💯
How capitalism is destroying the planet.
Very accurate however change won't happen or so slow we're all just running on the spot. All the oil producing countries and big businesses will always want to increase their margins no matter what. It might taste bitter and hard to swallow but keep adding enough sugar to make it palatable and nothing needs to really change.
Change will never happen , the society now is fixed , the only thing that will change us is a natural catastrophe or virus which destroy half of humanity or nuclear war.
Until Alexander is at the gates. At this rate you'll be welcoming your conquerors as liberators.
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Amazing video. Thanks for preparing it.
Capitalism is hinged on consumerism. No consumerism = no capitalist economy.
Consumption will consume us all.
Production will consume us all.
The aim of production is consumption.
What is Orwell's quote about war?
"People are stupid" as Edward Berneys always said, he was the masterhead of consumerism in early 1900s, the "evil" nephew of Sigmund Froyd
people are stupid if the system MAKES them stupid. a system designed by privileged rich educated dudes like berneys to STAY RICH.
He is very clever, playing with people though psychology even before Sigmund floyed helped him.
Of course there are problems (as there always will be since utopia is impossible), but absolute poverty has decreased rapidly and unequivocally all over the world, while both allowing population to balloon and also providing for the population. Don't be alarmed though, population replacement has peaked and after the total population peaks this century it will fall indefinitely. The demand for an increasing percentage of humans to become apart of a higher socio economic class will always exist, so even when population is lower than 8 billion eventually, you may have a higher percentage consuming alot than currently. That will be future people's problem.
I'm for people being conscious consumers, minimalism, living within their means, not being apart of the consumer credit and slavery system, spending less than they make, and living for a reasonable growth or even stagnant but qualify of life maintaining economy that is nimble.
The main issue is that human beings and their civilizations evolved from being hunter gatherers or subsistence existers, to specialization relying on everyone else to create the goods and services we rely on. This will not change unless their is a true collapse (planned or organic), and will be regional as of course people will become dog eat dog during collapse.
The human greed is the problem
Why do people see "greed" everywhere? I see ambition and drive. People simply trying to better their lives. Greed is inevitably always someone who simply has more than you do.
the best approach of climate crisis so far, we need more of this
We have to take responsibility for the choices we make and have made.
Who's we? What choices? lol? You can just chose to not participate and buy bowls and own them for 50 years. Why is it that most people don't just make this apparently rational decision? Maybe there's a fundamental fallacy and tradeoff by changing this behavior which is more sinister than the status quouo?
We equals all human beings, and choices meaning personal choices we all make. Simply life is choice and as life goes on over time we make lots of choices. If we are the ones making choices then we must be the one to take responsibility for those choices.
@Jane Jenkins I feel like we DO have the power to change it. We must act for ourselves. I see production as the bigger system that seams to rule over us, but don’t we ask more from production? Don’t we as a people need production? And aren’t we some of us working in production? Humans need to see everyone as themselves before any kind of change can happen. If we speak of people and people this and people that. We have to see we are the people we speak about. The change does start with the individual.
Excellent video! Had we have started these sensible degrowth practices and abolished capitalism 50 years ago we may have had a better chance to survive as an organized society. Our trajectory has only accelerating the passed 5 decades and is hurling us and the planet off the proverbial cliff, regardless of what changes we make now.
Abolishing capitalism is like tearing down a power dam and starting from scratch again! It's more efficient to transform civilization by using the existing engines and infrastructure to cause the changes needed...
We are producing more and more sustainable products while millions of people get richer and less poorer...but other kind of systems couldnt demostrarte that kind of possibility. Look at socialism un Aral sea or Mao stepforward doctrine with 17 milion of deaths in countryside
You are absolutely right, capitalism only generates misery but there is never a lack of defenders of capitalism who defend their own slavery.
Capitalism has to end.
Some of us downsized over 20 years ago and the amount of "stuff" you're full of won't fit in my little house. 😊 I understand Climate Change very well. Now, how you gonna stop overpopulation?
Education and better lively hoods tend to reduce population growth.
But they're not easy to archive in the exploitative economic atmosphere in the global south where the population is growing the firstest.
The population is going to peak in the next 40 years and then decline after that. In the developed world the average woman has one point six children or something like that.
Yes, population growth gas already peaked and will never be as high again. We have to wait for the population to actually peak as we are all living very long, even in poor nations. It will be a different ball game once it happens and the long slide begins.
well, dont get me wrong, its great to have the convenience of having all the basic needs meet, as oppose to having nothing, or anything in excess which are both extremes. i think moderation is the key in human consumption and production ...
a more nuanced and complete analysis is in Amitav Ghosh´s "The Great Derangement" and "The Nutmegs Curse"... I would advice everyone here to read them to understand how we (started with the western "we" and now the global middle class "we") became consumers and how to get of this by simply stop spending aside from the essentials.
Population is so much now. Specially some religious groups donot stop population as per their religion. More population means more growth
Interestingly, the stock footage at 21:10 is of Cabot Circus in Bristol. Which is a nice modern example of what led to this mess. It was, until recently, a public street, but it was handed over to private interests and enclosed. The enclosure of the Commons that happened in Europe inspired the idea of nature's resources, esp land, being 'owned', a previously unimaginable concept. Colonialism spread the disease of this idea all over the planet, (assisted by Abrahamic religions). And now they are attempting to do the same with water and air. The internet itself was meant to be a Commons, but of course, capitalists have enclosed that as well.
I am not sensitive to this marketing rubbish,…I am tired of it. Since the uprise of social media it has become common, but still isn’t morally normal in my book. I am “rich” by not spending on stuff I don’t really need, this video of the unequal workforce’s says it all!! I wish we had a stable economy. This is the market, these are the prices and we only accelerate in development of new products with out pressure. But this means fixed labor prices….and will probably never happen
I question when people teach their limits in information or choice overload. Or maybe people are already in a choice overload by just consuming everything.
Yeah.. we've been taught to buy so economy growing and the trash growing.. With no place to recycle 😅😅
A good job is done overall of presenting the issue.
I am always skeptical of anthropologists. His statement that privatization, in things like housing create a shortage, whereas government could easily be able to take care of the issue, is firmly utopian. Private industry is not perfect, but neither is big government. For one, monopolies create problems, of which big government is usually the biggest, most wasteful, inefficient, and unresponsive monopoly.
Obedient, well-trained consumers are not likely to ever snap out of the delusions sold to them through neuromarketing.
And, dividing populations politically is used to keep them from having any real control over how things work, as has been the way since before Machiavelli. Would be nice if people could see how cult indoctrination techniques are used to make them so obedient.
i stop using Cosmetics i use natural ingredients so i can save environment
Hitler hated capitalism also, and he called the Jew the Capitalist.
I am mostly minimalist now. I own about 5 box worth of stuff