I have enjoyed reading your articles for a long time now and they have played an important role in helping me shape my thoughts and opinions. Thanks for helping me out.

In this article you have said that consumption must stop growing if we are to achieve a sustainable balance. You have also said that today companies are bargaining with nature while their greed and consumption increase. While I agree with you, I don’t see how humanity as a whole can be expected to change their habits and patterns.

To face the reality of the situation, for many people (especially in the emerging economies) the comforts, benefits and luxuries of economic development are only now becoming manifest. How can you expect us to give up our aspirations to own big cars and buy air-conditioners? And even if someone did, in all probability they would be lying to themselves while secretly craving the spoils of success and development.

In my view what you’re suggesting will only happen if there is some kind of a spiritual revolution and the community begins to shed its attachment to materialism. This will probably follow as a natural consequence as society moves from the bargaining stage to the acceptance stage. If I assume this is true then it becomes hard for me to understand why you’re trying to influence public opinion at all. Are you trying to shorten or speed up the process so we can quickly or directly get to the acceptance stage? If you are, then wouldn’t the fact that your trying to do that in itself indicate the same attitude that convinces the rest if us that we can control and influence nature?

In contrast, is it not possible that today as the world (or tiny fractions of it at least) moves away from a culture of blind consumption towards a pattern that shows some sensitivity to environmental impact, we will see a new culture of decreasing consumption emerging automatically? I have seen this happen in many instances including myself. When people start paying a premium for and buying things that are labelled organic or environment friendly, it sets off a transformation in them which leads to more thought and reflection. The same rule of exponential growth might become evident here as well and you might well be wrong in assuming that the awareness developing from the bargaining with nature will grow at a slow linear pace.

Regards
Ajay
Bangalore, India

Rex Weyler: Ajay, thank you so much for these insights. Yes, you may be correct that these changes are going to come naturally as a consequence of ecological reality. And yes, the growth in this movement may – I hope – follow the trajectory of exponential growth. The only reason I would urge anyone to question their own aspirations is if I felt those aspirations were not realistic and pursuing them might be harmful. We can’t all have cars. The Earth cannot supply the materials and energy no matter how “efficient” we get. Yes, I would like to speed up the process to acceptance, but my comments may do little or nothing to accelerate the change to simpler aspirations, which may happen naturally, as you suggest. You make excellent and important points. Thank you.