consumption and promotes the perception that price alone is indicative of the true
cost of a good. The possibility that consumption should be reduced because the act of
consumption is not good for the soul, or is not what actually makes people happy,
has no place within the economic value system (Nelson 1995). The underlying
assumption is that consumers are driven to want more. As a result, economic
modeling assumes that reduction in consumption in the current period is only
addressed through the lens of an increase in consumption in a later period (Knoedler
and Underwood 2003). That the assumption of insatiable want may be taught a
learned behavior, reinforced through a market model is not even addressed in
economics.
A general and seemingly applicable assumption is that consumers and producers
maximize the benefit related to the opportunity accessible in their particular circumstance. The desire to reach an optimal outcome for a given point in time, as has been
noted before, is subjective and specific to how these economic agents view the
concept of maximization, which in turn is likely to be highly correlated with cultural
values. For example, in Indigenous societies there is evidence that a balance between
present and future periods along with that of the environmental system, as a whole,
was included in decision-making and optimization (Nerburn 1999). In present
consumerism fostered economies, the cultural values are less likely or unlikely to
incorporate environmental and social justice parameters proactively. The focus of
observable and marketed consumption is immediate gratification. However, as
consumer awareness of both the impact of consumption and the power of consumption to modify and catalyze economic outcomes increases there is growing evidence
of a shifting cultural paradigm to one of sustainability.
Markets do fail to produce environmental and socially optimal outcomes. Sometimes this is due to the myopic focus of market participants as in the case of lack of
accounting for externalities and in other circumstances it can be attributable to the
lack of excludability as in the case of common goods. To some extent, cultural
values dictate the significance of the adversity related to the creation of externalities
or abuse of common goods. The use of market models has been the regulatory
mechanism to modify socially non-optimal outcomes, but through relying on the
market mechanism rather than simultaneously including mechanics to promote
cultural change, the majority of regulatory interventions to date have had limited
to questionable success.
A constituency with an understanding of the holistic relationship between consumption and sustainability and having engagement in government are foundational
elements in achieving and maintaining sustainability as a cultural norm. For longterm traction, sustainability is dependent upon holistic and routine evaluation of
economic and societal frameworks. These frameworks need to be assessed and
modified as part of an on-going continuous improvement process. Fundamentally,
what may have been viewed as appropriate action at a point in time may no longer
serve the same purpose due to changing environmental, social, and cultural
parameters. However, the members of a society have to be both empowered and
cognizant of the need for this type of evaluation in order for efficiency and ultimately
sustainability to be a realized inter- and intra-generational attribute. From this
2 The Role of Culture and Moral Responsibility in Facilitating a Sustainable. . .
31
cost of a good. The possibility that consumption should be reduced because the act of
consumption is not good for the soul, or is not what actually makes people happy,
has no place within the economic value system (Nelson 1995). The underlying
assumption is that consumers are driven to want more. As a result, economic
modeling assumes that reduction in consumption in the current period is only
addressed through the lens of an increase in consumption in a later period (Knoedler
and Underwood 2003). That the assumption of insatiable want may be taught a
learned behavior, reinforced through a market model is not even addressed in
economics.
A general and seemingly applicable assumption is that consumers and producers
maximize the benefit related to the opportunity accessible in their particular circumstance. The desire to reach an optimal outcome for a given point in time, as has been
noted before, is subjective and specific to how these economic agents view the
concept of maximization, which in turn is likely to be highly correlated with cultural
values. For example, in Indigenous societies there is evidence that a balance between
present and future periods along with that of the environmental system, as a whole,
was included in decision-making and optimization (Nerburn 1999). In present
consumerism fostered economies, the cultural values are less likely or unlikely to
incorporate environmental and social justice parameters proactively. The focus of
observable and marketed consumption is immediate gratification. However, as
consumer awareness of both the impact of consumption and the power of consumption to modify and catalyze economic outcomes increases there is growing evidence
of a shifting cultural paradigm to one of sustainability.
Markets do fail to produce environmental and socially optimal outcomes. Sometimes this is due to the myopic focus of market participants as in the case of lack of
accounting for externalities and in other circumstances it can be attributable to the
lack of excludability as in the case of common goods. To some extent, cultural
values dictate the significance of the adversity related to the creation of externalities
or abuse of common goods. The use of market models has been the regulatory
mechanism to modify socially non-optimal outcomes, but through relying on the
market mechanism rather than simultaneously including mechanics to promote
cultural change, the majority of regulatory interventions to date have had limited
to questionable success.
A constituency with an understanding of the holistic relationship between consumption and sustainability and having engagement in government are foundational
elements in achieving and maintaining sustainability as a cultural norm. For longterm traction, sustainability is dependent upon holistic and routine evaluation of
economic and societal frameworks. These frameworks need to be assessed and
modified as part of an on-going continuous improvement process. Fundamentally,
what may have been viewed as appropriate action at a point in time may no longer
serve the same purpose due to changing environmental, social, and cultural
parameters. However, the members of a society have to be both empowered and
cognizant of the need for this type of evaluation in order for efficiency and ultimately
sustainability to be a realized inter- and intra-generational attribute. From this
2 The Role of Culture and Moral Responsibility in Facilitating a Sustainable. . .
31