2
the billions. Meanwhile, the other half live in relative poverty. Forced to live a frugal
existence, they demonstrate everyday what the human body needs to survive, the
basics—food, water, shelter, and the most basic transportation means. But all people
dream. In a connected world, comparisons are ever present and beckon those without to join in the pursuit of more and better.
As we strive to do better on and for our finite planet, it is impossible to take fundamental human needs and human desire out of the equation. As designers, charged
with manifesting those desires in the marketplace, we can do better for everyone.
But without reimagining and redefining what living well means and how more people can reach that standard, our current models will be increasingly unable to support the “self-evident truths” espoused a quarter millennium ago by the framers of
the US Constitution. Without a detailed consideration of specific means and methods to sustainably promote them, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness will
increasingly diverge as achievable ends for almost everyone.
1.2 The American Way of Life
“Way of life” is a phrase that is, at once, fluid and solid. It implicitly acknowledges
processes that respond to conditions along a variable path and, at the same time,
forms a fixed, monolithic idea. Our way of life emerges each moment and evolves
through the choices we make. It is an organic expression of what is possible within
the complex set of perceptions, circumstances, and forces that simultaneously allow
and limit its progress. The way emerges from its conditions just as a river flows
through terrain, guided by forces of gravity and friction that work as part of much
larger cycles.
In the United States, politicians from both dominant parties invoke “the American
Way of Life” as a solid and singular thing that we must, at all costs, protect and
preserve. Coined by James Truslow Adams, the term captures such concepts as
“bigger and better” and “a better, richer, and happier life for all citizens of every
rank” (Adams 2017) and has provided a powerful metaphor throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. Barak Obama launched his 2008 presidential
bid by sharing his “thoughts on reclaiming the American dream” and extending it to
people who felt they had lost or never had the ability to realize it (Obama 2006).
Eight years later, Donald Trump built an ultimately successful campaign on promising his electoral base all the material trappings of what it represents. The candidate,
who is out of touch with how far people feel they are from attaining all its promises,
risks losing an election. It has proven to be a powerful ideal that is firmly set in the
minds of most people, not only in the United States but also around the world. It
implies both expectations and behaviors of free individuals earning a livelihood and
pursuing happiness.
1 Do Nothing: The Danger of Believing in a World Without Limits
the billions. Meanwhile, the other half live in relative poverty. Forced to live a frugal
existence, they demonstrate everyday what the human body needs to survive, the
basics—food, water, shelter, and the most basic transportation means. But all people
dream. In a connected world, comparisons are ever present and beckon those without to join in the pursuit of more and better.
As we strive to do better on and for our finite planet, it is impossible to take fundamental human needs and human desire out of the equation. As designers, charged
with manifesting those desires in the marketplace, we can do better for everyone.
But without reimagining and redefining what living well means and how more people can reach that standard, our current models will be increasingly unable to support the “self-evident truths” espoused a quarter millennium ago by the framers of
the US Constitution. Without a detailed consideration of specific means and methods to sustainably promote them, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness will
increasingly diverge as achievable ends for almost everyone.
1.2 The American Way of Life
“Way of life” is a phrase that is, at once, fluid and solid. It implicitly acknowledges
processes that respond to conditions along a variable path and, at the same time,
forms a fixed, monolithic idea. Our way of life emerges each moment and evolves
through the choices we make. It is an organic expression of what is possible within
the complex set of perceptions, circumstances, and forces that simultaneously allow
and limit its progress. The way emerges from its conditions just as a river flows
through terrain, guided by forces of gravity and friction that work as part of much
larger cycles.
In the United States, politicians from both dominant parties invoke “the American
Way of Life” as a solid and singular thing that we must, at all costs, protect and
preserve. Coined by James Truslow Adams, the term captures such concepts as
“bigger and better” and “a better, richer, and happier life for all citizens of every
rank” (Adams 2017) and has provided a powerful metaphor throughout the twentieth and into the twenty-first centuries. Barak Obama launched his 2008 presidential
bid by sharing his “thoughts on reclaiming the American dream” and extending it to
people who felt they had lost or never had the ability to realize it (Obama 2006).
Eight years later, Donald Trump built an ultimately successful campaign on promising his electoral base all the material trappings of what it represents. The candidate,
who is out of touch with how far people feel they are from attaining all its promises,
risks losing an election. It has proven to be a powerful ideal that is firmly set in the
minds of most people, not only in the United States but also around the world. It
implies both expectations and behaviors of free individuals earning a livelihood and
pursuing happiness.
1 Do Nothing: The Danger of Believing in a World Without Limits