Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Intro: The world is drowning in stuff.

  • The stuff we cram into our closets, store in our garage and acquire in malls, shops,

  • and boutiques.

  • Stuff that gets thrown out and washes up on shore, and stuff that causes billions of tons

  • of carbon dioxide to spew into the atmosphere every year.

  • But all this stuff isn't really necessary to live, indeed often we're less happy because

  • of it.

  • So why do we buy?

  • But more importantly, how do we stop this rampant consumerism fueled by capitalist growth?

  • Today, we try to answer those questions by carving out possible avenues through which

  • we can end consumerism and craft a more just and ethical way of living well on this planet.

  • This video was made possible by the people who support me on Patreon.

  • Get early access to all my videos by becoming an OCC Patron

  • Consumerism In the Global North, overconsumption runs

  • rampant.

  • Whether a brand new Tesla Model S or nice pair of jeans, buying for status, acceptance,

  • desire, or because of an advertisement are all ingrained in our conception of success

  • and mental well being.

  • Under capitalism, we buy the right things as way for us to seek acceptance from and

  • connection with our peers.

  • The barrage of ads we encounter every day equate smiles with khakis, suaveness with

  • sunglasses , and even love with headphones.

  • But this drive to purchase that new swiffer wet jet or that new car is not an inherently

  • biological trait.

  • Our quest for more--our relentless overconsumption-- is a symptom of capitalism.

  • An economic system reliant on constant growth in order to create profits.

  • For a business to succeed, outcompete others, and ultimately rake in more profits, it must

  • grow.

  • One of the brainchildren of this profit/growth imperative is advertising.

  • A way to make new and useless products seem fresh, exciting, and even essential.

  • That new iphone, Bose noise canceling headphones, and basically all of fast-fashion are the

  • epitome of this phenomenon.

  • This advertising is not telling you what the company's products are, but instead, what

  • you could be with their company's product.

  • In this way, the products of the capitalist profit machine are foisted onto us, the consumers,

  • as life-altering goods that, in reality, change very little of our material circumstances.

  • In short, capitalism needs to make more and more shit to remain effective, so corporations

  • transform these products through marketing from goods that don't need to exist into

  • necessities in order to get us to eat up what they're making.

  • But more consumption and more income does not equate to more happiness.

  • In fact, this phenomenon is called the Easterlin paradox.

  • Studies reveal that after our basic material needs are met, any additional consumption

  • does little to improve happiness.

  • In addition to its impact on individuals' self-conception & mental health, capitalist

  • overproduction and subsequent overconsumption especially in the Global North drives massive

  • waste, emissions, and pollution.

  • A country's rise in emissions correlates strongly with their growth in GDP.

  • Same with energy consumption and production.

  • The capitalist growth model is incompatible with a zero-carbon world.

  • A fact which has been on display in the failures of decoupling strategies that try to use renewables

  • and techno-fixes like band-aids over a gaping wound.

  • We know that decoupling doesn't work when we look at South Korea's emission growth

  • after their green growth initiatives in 2009.

  • And we can see it in the fact that even though renewable capacity is at an all time high,

  • so too is fossil fuel capacity.

  • We're emitting more than we ever have.

  • Decoupling strategies just don't adequately address the overwhelming scientific evidence

  • that recognizes we need drastically reduce emissions quickly if we are to stay below

  • 1.5 degrees celsius of warming.

  • So, if the capitalist growth/profit economy can't exist alongside a zero-carbon, environmentally

  • ethical one, what other options do we have?

  • The Degrowth Solution Under the pressures of capitalism and consumerism,

  • certain people are grasping for some form of release valve.

  • Whether it be minimalism, zero waste, or slow living, those with the privilege to do so

  • are working to carve out some respite from the unhappiness of capitalist alienation.

  • All of these lifestyle choices correctly recognize the detrimental effect of capitalist consumption

  • on life and environment, but they lack a structural approach that recognizes the importance of

  • both the individual and the system.

  • This is where degrowth comes in.

  • Degrowth positions itself in an anticapitalist framework that seeks, in the words of Professor

  • of Human Geography, Mark Whitehead, thedownscaling of production and consumptionin a way

  • that increases human well-being and enhances ecological conditions and equity.”

  • Essentially, degrowth calls for a realignment of the economy from one based on overconsumption

  • andobsessive accumulationto one that produces goods to satisfy real needs like

  • housing, health, education, transport, and arts.

  • At its core, degrowth seeks the dramatic contraction of rich countries to allow for an increase

  • in well-being for poorer countries.

  • Models show that a world population of 10 billion people cannot exist on this planet

  • living the current capitalist North American/European lifestyle.

  • It now takes the Earth one year and eight months to regenerate what we consume in a

  • year, and by we I mean the richest 10% of the world, who are responsible for 50% of

  • carbon emissions.

  • So, degrowth completely reimagines what it means to live well in countries like the United

  • States or Germany.

  • It means buying less, repairing, reducing meat consumption, and no second homes on an

  • individual level, but ultimately degrowth cannot function as just individual lifestyle

  • choices.

  • Systemic pathways, like subsidizing all housing retrofits, shutting down the 100 companies

  • that are responsible for 71% of the worlds emissions, redistributing all food waste,

  • dramatically expanding public transportation methods, localizing food production as much

  • as possible, eliminating unnecessary marketing, and a robust emphasis on low carbon, care-oriented

  • jobs like educators, therapists, and in-home care providers, are just some of the many

  • ways to simultaneously improve the well-being of all while drastically reducing the Global

  • North's consumption levels.

  • You don't have to live in a cave Degrowth doesn't mean going back to the

  • stone age, but it does mean a drastic reduction in energy and material consumption from the

  • largest historical emitters like the United States.

  • The stark truth is that to both avoid global warming above 1.5 degrees celsius while simultaneously

  • establishing a decent living for the majority world, consumption levels of the Global North

  • need to plummet.

  • One study modeled that countries with the highest per-capita consumers could cut their

  • energy consumption rate by 95% and still live well with a combination of efficiency technologies

  • and alternative lifestyle choices.

  • In addition, they found that a global reduction of energy consumption by 60% is not only feasible,

  • but also could be done in a way that brings a comfortable lifestyle to every single person

  • on this planet.

  • And if you're thinking that a 60% reduction or even a 95% reduction would mean living

  • in caves, you'd be wrong.

  • The paper asserts that this contraction means reverting back to 1960s levels of consumption,

  • and that would mean a 1960s lifestyle not just for the U.S., but for everyone on the

  • planet.

  • This new reality would look a lot like what Annie Raser-Rowland describes in her book

  • The Art of Frugal Hedonism.

  • A life for all that centers people and experience in well-being instead of relying on extra

  • stuff to manage our emotional health.

  • It would be an economy based on mutual care and repair.

  • But this economic reality cannot happen under a state capitalist economic model.

  • Indeed were degrowth to be handed down in policy from the ruling class it would look

  • the same as austerity measures or even the conditions we're now living through now

  • in the pandemic.

  • Because, under capitalism, no growth means recessions, the consequences of which inevitably

  • fall on the working class and the marginalized.

  • Which is why degrowth is just one piece of the puzzle.

  • Towards Ecosocialist Degrowth: While degrowth does a sufficient job recognizing

  • the inherent destruction of our current capitalist growth/profit system, it needs to be in conversation

  • with ecosocialism.

  • Ecosocialism cannot work without degrowth, and degrowth cannot function without ecosocialism.

  • A synthesis of the two creates a steadier path away from capitalism.

  • The seizing of the means of production by laborers and the masses, and the subsequent

  • full democratic control of the workplace and the state is essential to implement any measure

  • of degrowth.

  • Reducing consumption must bubble up democratically from the many, otherwise it can quickly fall

  • into draconian measures of economic oppression.

  • Which is why ecosocialism is essential, it allows for the reconstruction of the economy

  • not based on profit and ultimately endless growth, but one based on needs--ultimately

  • handing the working class agency and liberation.

  • In the words of Marx, without a constant need for work in order to live or tohave”,

  • we can actually startbeing.”

  • We can start asking questions like why do we burn 800 million gallons of gas every year

  • in the U.S. just to mow our lawns when we could have an abundance of communal gardens

  • instead?

  • Why does work need to be the thing that defines our life?

  • Why is it so much easier to buy than to repair?

  • Faced with the realization that capitalist decoupling is not working as we continue to

  • increase global consumption, an ecosocialist degrowth intervention must happen.

  • After all, what could be more enticing than a life with more time to be with the people

  • you love and do the things you want to do.

  • Unfortunately, videos like these, while very important, do terribly with the YouTube algorithm

  • and sponsors don't want to touch them.

  • But there is a way you can help.

  • Becoming a patreon member helps Our Changing Climate stay afloat and independent.

  • As an OCC patron, you'll not gain early access to videos, but also special behind

  • the scenes updates, and a members only discord channel.

  • In addition, each month my supporters vote on an environmental group that I then donate

  • a portion of my monthly revenue to.

  • Patreon supporters are the financial backbone of the Our Changing Climate operation, without

  • them I wouldn't be able to take creative risks and dive into difficult topics.

  • So if you want to help keep this channel alive or are feeling generous, head over to patreon.com/ourchangingclimate

  • or use the link in the description and become an OCC patron.

  • If you're not interested or aren't financially able, then no worries!

  • You can help by subscribing, liking the video, and commenting.

  • I hope you enjoyed the video, and I'll see you in two weeks!

Intro: The world is drowning in stuff.