True Cost

We see the concept of cost very narrowly in America. I assume it is this way because the American economy relies on constant expansion and growth. The fewer obstacles between the producer and consumer the better. We see economic growth as an indicator of progress, but our understanding of both progress and cost seem solely based on monetary value.

I’m not against money, the economy, or even growth. My issue is that it seems these are the only metrics by which we measure the success of our society. Over time valuing growth at the expense of all else will ultimately leave us without anything of real value. Good people in this land-of-plenty can go about their lives of consumption while ignoring the true costs of this system – the human cost, the environmental cost, and the cultural cost.

The human cost is the suffering experienced by the people being exploited in the global production and distribution chains. The environmental cost is the degradation to our planet caused by our consumption habits. And the cultural cost being that every step towards superficial fulfillment leads us further from any type of culture that truly and completely values the human experience.

By only considering the monetary cost we are also encouraging businesses to operate on bad incentives. We have incentivized business to make ethical compromises when it comes to labor and environmental externalities. A few decades of incremental compromise can lead to whole industries that seem devoid of ethics.

I’ve heard the argument that the only way out of our ecological and humanitarian crisis is by continuing to grow. The only way to save the environment and the destitute populations of the planet is to make everyone rich. Only then will everyone be able to fully participate in our current system. Once everyone’s needs are fully met then they will be able to focus their attention on making good choices.

This seems backwards to me. I think striving to pull people out of poverty is a worthy use of our time and resources. I do not believe the only way to do that is by doubling down on some of our worst ideals. Perhaps my understanding of the situation is myopic. It seems that a realignment of what we value is a better way of creating a better future.

It is hard to believe that the way to help exploited populations across our global market is to continue to consume the goods they’re being exploited to produce. I do not see how continuing to clear forests for factory farming helps the environment or the people that inhabit those places. Continuing to refine our technological tools to simply advertise to and manipulate users seems like a poor use of that tech.

When I was growing up I thought it was great to live in this land-of-plenty. Anything you could realistically conceive of you could get. I grew up solidly in the middle of the middle-class so I didn’t have a silver spoon, but I had much more than others around the world. As I got older I realized that if I was the beneficiary of this system then there were victims. Our privilege was built on the exploitation of so much.

The amount of water it takes to produce one shirt or a pair of jeans is staggering. The amount of energy used to ship our goods across the globe is staggering. The forest land that has been cut down to satisfy our desire for cheap meat is staggering. The amount of people being forced to work for little or nothing in order to mine metals for our gadgets is staggering.

It is tough in America to understand these other costs. Our consumer system hums along pretty well, and one of its core tenets is ensuring we do not see the ugly side of global capitalism. It is like going to a restaurant. We don’t want to see the absolute chaos of the kitchen. We just want a nice meal in a nice atmosphere.

Our global economy is just like that. We don’t want to see the insanity that it takes to deliver to us what we desire. Companies are good at hiding that insanity. How many factory farm produced products have a portrayal of the perfect, humble family farm on their packaging? We are being sold the lie as much as we are being sold the product. If we came face-to-face with all that it takes to produce what we consume then I bet we’d make some pretty drastic changes in our consumption habits.

Without changing our values and the habits that accompany those values we are simply shifting the repercussions of our actions on other people, places, and on our future generations. When one city, state or country touts their achievement of being more environmentally efficient it usually isn’t because they’ve changed their habits or values. Rather they’ve just moved the ugly things that had been polluting their immediate space to another place. Likely a place with less wealth.

Eventually there will not be a place to hide the hubris of our species. Our lack of consideration for the costs to our planet and people will be something we will have to reckon with. We are at the beginning of that now, and there are a few things we can do to lessen the burden on future generations.

We can try to consume less. We can try to buy local. We can try to use less plastic. We can try to reuse and recycle. We can try to get our energy from cleaner sources. We can try to buy goods from companies that value ethical production and labor practices. We can try to shift our values away from a default setting of desire to a default setting of contentment.

When we approach our consumption habits in this manner we are going against the cultural current. The system is not set up to put hurdles between you and the market so you have to do that yourself. Putting up your own hurdles and constantly reaffirming their necessity is tough. Beating back the urge to constantly consume is tough. Seeing the cost beyond the price tag is tough.

Almost everything up to this point in my life has been a steady stream of encouragement to consume without thought. We’ve been conditioned to believe that consumption is our main objective as participants in the American culture. Changing that culture will be very difficult. Trying to make positive choices that align with that positive future vision is the best we can do. So try and be kind to yourself when you fall short.

I appreciate your attention and hope you’ve found value in this.
Thanks for reading.