would potentially lead to internalization of externalized costs of production to ensure
sustainable use of environmental resources. The outcome of conscious consumption
would potentially be found in improved environmental and human welfare, such as
working conditions and wages, most significantly in developing countries. Codification of the value shift embodied in sustainability transformation as described
would be expected to result in regulation that establishes an ongoing framework
for sustainable development, as consumer would be understanding of the need for
regulation and be aligned with the intention of it.
2.4
Consumption, Economics, and Culture
Nearly everything we do either is influenced by economics or influences economic
outcomes. This makes the study of economics unique relative to other disciplines.
Economics is about daily life. It is the study of how individuals, firms, and the
overall economy function every day in relation to wants, needs, resources,
constraints, and perceived optimization. Underlying economics are values and our
perception of the world in relation to ourselves. For example, is the environment a
resource for our use or a needed asset for us to steward? In understanding the
interconnection between human consumption and the ecosystem, awareness may
augment the consumption/production relationship. As a result, the study of economics allows participants in the economy to make better decisions and derive greater
benefit from their activities. However, the qualitative attributes of “better” and
“greater” are not universal but are culturally determined.
Economics evaluates human behavior relative to wants, needs, and resource
allocation within a natural environment. By definition, the parameters of the discipline include other life forms and physical resources needed to maintain both life and
environmental regeneration. To the extent that a human culture incorporates
non-human elements in decision-making, the economic system includes an understanding of the holistic inter-dependence of living and non-living elements of the
planet.
Culture is a significant contributor to what is perceived as valuable and is the
determining parameter in the designations that ultimately yield to resource allocation
within a society (O’Hara 1995). Given that culture is a learned behavior, culture can
either promote or diminish any given society’s understanding of the interconnectedness of human and planetary life, thereby determining the extent of the anthropocentric, or human-centered, perspective. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, UNESCO, defined culture as a significant component to
attaining global sustainability:
Culture shapes the way we see the world. It therefore has the capacity to bring about the
change of attitudes needed to ensure peace and sustainable development which, we know,
form the only possible way forward for life on planet Earth. Today, that goal is still a long
way off. A global crisis faces humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century, marked by
increasing poverty in our symmetrical world, environmental degradation and shortsightedness in policy-making. Culture is a crucial key to solving this crisis (UNESCO 2000).
18
M. Venkatesan
sustainable use of environmental resources. The outcome of conscious consumption
would potentially be found in improved environmental and human welfare, such as
working conditions and wages, most significantly in developing countries. Codification of the value shift embodied in sustainability transformation as described
would be expected to result in regulation that establishes an ongoing framework
for sustainable development, as consumer would be understanding of the need for
regulation and be aligned with the intention of it.
2.4
Consumption, Economics, and Culture
Nearly everything we do either is influenced by economics or influences economic
outcomes. This makes the study of economics unique relative to other disciplines.
Economics is about daily life. It is the study of how individuals, firms, and the
overall economy function every day in relation to wants, needs, resources,
constraints, and perceived optimization. Underlying economics are values and our
perception of the world in relation to ourselves. For example, is the environment a
resource for our use or a needed asset for us to steward? In understanding the
interconnection between human consumption and the ecosystem, awareness may
augment the consumption/production relationship. As a result, the study of economics allows participants in the economy to make better decisions and derive greater
benefit from their activities. However, the qualitative attributes of “better” and
“greater” are not universal but are culturally determined.
Economics evaluates human behavior relative to wants, needs, and resource
allocation within a natural environment. By definition, the parameters of the discipline include other life forms and physical resources needed to maintain both life and
environmental regeneration. To the extent that a human culture incorporates
non-human elements in decision-making, the economic system includes an understanding of the holistic inter-dependence of living and non-living elements of the
planet.
Culture is a significant contributor to what is perceived as valuable and is the
determining parameter in the designations that ultimately yield to resource allocation
within a society (O’Hara 1995). Given that culture is a learned behavior, culture can
either promote or diminish any given society’s understanding of the interconnectedness of human and planetary life, thereby determining the extent of the anthropocentric, or human-centered, perspective. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization, UNESCO, defined culture as a significant component to
attaining global sustainability:
Culture shapes the way we see the world. It therefore has the capacity to bring about the
change of attitudes needed to ensure peace and sustainable development which, we know,
form the only possible way forward for life on planet Earth. Today, that goal is still a long
way off. A global crisis faces humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first century, marked by
increasing poverty in our symmetrical world, environmental degradation and shortsightedness in policy-making. Culture is a crucial key to solving this crisis (UNESCO 2000).
18
M. Venkatesan