Title: Sustainable Consumption and the New Economics
Abstract: Despite the direction the mainstream policy framework for sustainable consumption has taken, the challenge laid down at Rio has not fallen on deaf ears. To recall, that objective was not only to promote greater efficiency in resource use, but also to realign development goals according to wider social and environmental priorities rather than narrow economic criteria, and to consider the possibilities of lifestyles founded upon values other than consumerism. This alternative approach to environmental governance and sustainable consumption is supported by a broad body of thought known collectively as the 'New Economics', which is elaborated in this chapter. It is founded on new conceptions of wealth and work, new uses of money, and an integral ethical stance; when it comes to consumption issues, it embodies what Jackson (2004b) terms an ecological critique of the utilitarian approach to understanding consumer motivation. Consuming more, simply put, does not necessarily make us happy, healthy, wealthy or wise. This view, for a long time considered taboo in policymaking circles, is finally starting to be heard in mainstream forums. The challenge for this broad church of interdisciplinary and alternative perspectives — and this chapter — is to provide a coherent theoretical foundation for policy and action.
Publication Year: 2009
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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