Ecological Civilization is Not Equal to Green Industrial …
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social psychology doesn’t and cannot depend on a planned “social reform program”
or “conspiracy” by the government or individual enterprise. It is the inherent requirement of industrialization and capital. It is self-enforcing and is the outcome of the
common action of a lot of dispersive market entities. Unlike previously believed,
modern consumption is actually the direct result of a long-term, conscientious but
barely known social reform (Atkisson 2012). As Nobel prize winners Akerlof and
Shiller (2015) pointed out, what consumers really like is actually different from what
they are manipulated to like in the market.
Modern economics have given a push to this unsustainable development mode.
First, consumerism is embedded in the analytical architecture of standard economics.
In this architecture, consumer’s efficacy is a function to the volume of commodity
consumption. The more consumption, the higher efficacy, so more consumption is
always welcome, although in reality people’s material consumption does have a limit.
Besides, producers have to sell more to earn more. Second, in the industrial logic that
advocates buying and selling more products, human well-being and ecological environment are not in the narrow analytical architecture of standard economics. Once
we jump out of this architecture and scrutinize economic conclusions in the broader
“man-nature” perspective, with human well-being included, many conclusions of
standard economics are no longer tenable or somewhat misleading. Therefore, only
by reflecting on and restructuring standard economics can we truly understand
sustainable development.
4. Benefits and environmental consequences under industrial logic
Industrialization has dramatically increased the productivity of material wealth and
advanced human civilization, but the economic prosperity built on the consumption
of material wealth has brought about impacts on human well-being and environment.
First, the expansion of consumption usually goes counter to human well-being. The
ultimate goal of development is to increase people’s well-being or sense of happiness, while economic growth and consumption are just means to that end. A lot of
studies show that in many countries including China, economic development under
traditional industrial mode hasn’t consistently enhanced people’s sense of happiness
as expected (e.g. Easterlin et al. 2012; Ng 2003; Scitovsky 1992; Jackson 2016;
Skidelsky and Skidelsky 2012). Smith (1759) pointed out that the high productivity
of market economy was driven by the misleading belief that material wealth could
bring happiness. “This deception is what starts men working and keeps them at it…
having entirely changed the whole face of the globe.”
Second, environmental crisis makes the world unsustainable. The impacts
imposed by traditional industrial mode on the ecological environment are reflected
in aggregate and logic. As this mode depends on the continuous expansion of
consumerism, man will inevitably surpass the environmental carrying capacity one
day. Compared with this consequence, the damages done by the infringement of traditional industrial logic upon the environmental system are less noticed. Ecosystem
is a symbiotic system (including the natural system and the relation between man
511
social psychology doesn’t and cannot depend on a planned “social reform program”
or “conspiracy” by the government or individual enterprise. It is the inherent requirement of industrialization and capital. It is self-enforcing and is the outcome of the
common action of a lot of dispersive market entities. Unlike previously believed,
modern consumption is actually the direct result of a long-term, conscientious but
barely known social reform (Atkisson 2012). As Nobel prize winners Akerlof and
Shiller (2015) pointed out, what consumers really like is actually different from what
they are manipulated to like in the market.
Modern economics have given a push to this unsustainable development mode.
First, consumerism is embedded in the analytical architecture of standard economics.
In this architecture, consumer’s efficacy is a function to the volume of commodity
consumption. The more consumption, the higher efficacy, so more consumption is
always welcome, although in reality people’s material consumption does have a limit.
Besides, producers have to sell more to earn more. Second, in the industrial logic that
advocates buying and selling more products, human well-being and ecological environment are not in the narrow analytical architecture of standard economics. Once
we jump out of this architecture and scrutinize economic conclusions in the broader
“man-nature” perspective, with human well-being included, many conclusions of
standard economics are no longer tenable or somewhat misleading. Therefore, only
by reflecting on and restructuring standard economics can we truly understand
sustainable development.
4. Benefits and environmental consequences under industrial logic
Industrialization has dramatically increased the productivity of material wealth and
advanced human civilization, but the economic prosperity built on the consumption
of material wealth has brought about impacts on human well-being and environment.
First, the expansion of consumption usually goes counter to human well-being. The
ultimate goal of development is to increase people’s well-being or sense of happiness, while economic growth and consumption are just means to that end. A lot of
studies show that in many countries including China, economic development under
traditional industrial mode hasn’t consistently enhanced people’s sense of happiness
as expected (e.g. Easterlin et al. 2012; Ng 2003; Scitovsky 1992; Jackson 2016;
Skidelsky and Skidelsky 2012). Smith (1759) pointed out that the high productivity
of market economy was driven by the misleading belief that material wealth could
bring happiness. “This deception is what starts men working and keeps them at it…
having entirely changed the whole face of the globe.”
Second, environmental crisis makes the world unsustainable. The impacts
imposed by traditional industrial mode on the ecological environment are reflected
in aggregate and logic. As this mode depends on the continuous expansion of
consumerism, man will inevitably surpass the environmental carrying capacity one
day. Compared with this consequence, the damages done by the infringement of traditional industrial logic upon the environmental system are less noticed. Ecosystem
is a symbiotic system (including the natural system and the relation between man