10
This insight on fundamental human nature is as valid today as it was when it was
delivered in the mid-nineteenth century. The illustration applies to any moment
where the simple act of comparing fuels an endless race to make and consume
things. The human impulse to satisfy personal physical, emotional, and psychological needs and to judge the level of this satisfaction or “happiness” in a social context
is universal. It establishes the baselines by which we measure “standard of living.”
It feeds the perceived need for constant growth, production, and development everywhere in the world. It is played out in each decision we make from what to eat, how
to travel, where to live, and how to spend each day.
1.4.1 Standard of Living Disconnected from External Impacts
The notion of a mother and father raising two children in a house with a yard in the
suburbs, as the aspirational pinnacle of the American Way of Life, has been effectively challenged since it reached its full expression in the middle of the twentieth
century. This is evidenced by the many alternatives that exist today, which have
redefined models of domesticity, personal relationships, and family. While such
changes in social structures may be more inclusive and psychologically healthier for
more people, they generally have materially the same per person ecological impact
as previous structures. Whether living in a city, the suburbs, or in a rural village, the
basic necessities of comfort and security are the same. In order to live we all need
food to eat, clean water to drink, and a warm dry place to come home to.
In order to fairly compare our choices of where we decide to live, when it comes
to environmental footprints and sustainability, we must consider what else will
was right. Although most of these 1950s tract homes had been remodeled, and
many enlarged somewhat, the street had retained a cohesive feel. It was a little
piece of the middle-class ideal, where, with all the smallish working-class
houses on quarter acre lots, we wouldn’t be distracted by people trying to
“keep up with the Joneses.”
From the neighbor girl’s vantage point, however, in her moderately larger
house with a pool in the yard, I guess it did seem tiny. Becky’s comment was
an innocent and honest assessment of the relative size of things. It’s what we
all do as kids. We try to figure out our place in the world and make sense of
things by comparing our own conditions to those immediately adjacent to us.
As we grow up, we retain the impulse to compare. It colors our perception of
what is enough, what we lack, and what we demand in order to fulfill our
needs. Comparing can be an unhealthy, human impulse that drives consumption. When left unexamined and unchecked, our natural appetites for more,
bigger, and better can easily grow to colossal proportions.
1 Do Nothing: The Danger of Believing in a World Without Limits
This insight on fundamental human nature is as valid today as it was when it was
delivered in the mid-nineteenth century. The illustration applies to any moment
where the simple act of comparing fuels an endless race to make and consume
things. The human impulse to satisfy personal physical, emotional, and psychological needs and to judge the level of this satisfaction or “happiness” in a social context
is universal. It establishes the baselines by which we measure “standard of living.”
It feeds the perceived need for constant growth, production, and development everywhere in the world. It is played out in each decision we make from what to eat, how
to travel, where to live, and how to spend each day.
1.4.1 Standard of Living Disconnected from External Impacts
The notion of a mother and father raising two children in a house with a yard in the
suburbs, as the aspirational pinnacle of the American Way of Life, has been effectively challenged since it reached its full expression in the middle of the twentieth
century. This is evidenced by the many alternatives that exist today, which have
redefined models of domesticity, personal relationships, and family. While such
changes in social structures may be more inclusive and psychologically healthier for
more people, they generally have materially the same per person ecological impact
as previous structures. Whether living in a city, the suburbs, or in a rural village, the
basic necessities of comfort and security are the same. In order to live we all need
food to eat, clean water to drink, and a warm dry place to come home to.
In order to fairly compare our choices of where we decide to live, when it comes
to environmental footprints and sustainability, we must consider what else will
was right. Although most of these 1950s tract homes had been remodeled, and
many enlarged somewhat, the street had retained a cohesive feel. It was a little
piece of the middle-class ideal, where, with all the smallish working-class
houses on quarter acre lots, we wouldn’t be distracted by people trying to
“keep up with the Joneses.”
From the neighbor girl’s vantage point, however, in her moderately larger
house with a pool in the yard, I guess it did seem tiny. Becky’s comment was
an innocent and honest assessment of the relative size of things. It’s what we
all do as kids. We try to figure out our place in the world and make sense of
things by comparing our own conditions to those immediately adjacent to us.
As we grow up, we retain the impulse to compare. It colors our perception of
what is enough, what we lack, and what we demand in order to fulfill our
needs. Comparing can be an unhealthy, human impulse that drives consumption. When left unexamined and unchecked, our natural appetites for more,
bigger, and better can easily grow to colossal proportions.
1 Do Nothing: The Danger of Believing in a World Without Limits