I may be a lone wolf, but culture war issues like same-sex couples not being able to enter a government-sanctioned marriage contract are some of the last things on my mind. Sometimes I think that such issues are deliberately used to distract us from the real problems facing humans. And I think that when those issues are resolved the "progress" that people talk about is the biggest, most destructive illusion.
The most immoral thing today is overconsumption in the West.
I do not have actual numbers, but it would not surprise me to find that the U.S. middle class has been responsible for the overwhelming bulk of resource depletion. Extremely wealthy households consume a lot of goods and services, but there are not very many extremely wealthy people. I doubt that low-income households are enough in number and have enough income to consume as much as the middle class. Yet, we are told almost every day that if the American middle class does not remain intact the whole Earth will implode.
And apparently there are growing middle classes in places like India that want the same standard of living as the American middle class. I do not see how it is ecologically possible for the American Dream to be globalized.
Of course, somebody is going to bring up overpopulation. Well, fertility rates have declined in the West. So we have fewer people consuming a greater amount of goods and services. And in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism Richard H. Robbins shows that the population explosion in the Third World is a myth. Fertility rates in the Third World have been steady, he shows. What has changed, I recall him saying, is that rates of consumption have increased.
Americans, maybe the most self-congratulatory people ever, like to remind themselves how industrious, resourceful and innovative they are. Yet, sustainability, learning how to be happy with less, etc. are things that Americans seem to be incapable of attempting, let alone realizing. Consuming less is never part of the equation, no matter what problem, issue or controversy is being addressed.
I have little power or clout, so I can't do much to address the problem. But I am doing my best to take responsibility for my role in the problem and minimize my contribution. It does not leave much time, money or energy for splitting hairs over things like abortion, same-sex marriage, evolution vs. creation, can there be morality without God, etc.
The most immoral thing today is overconsumption in the West.
I do not have actual numbers, but it would not surprise me to find that the U.S. middle class has been responsible for the overwhelming bulk of resource depletion. Extremely wealthy households consume a lot of goods and services, but there are not very many extremely wealthy people. I doubt that low-income households are enough in number and have enough income to consume as much as the middle class. Yet, we are told almost every day that if the American middle class does not remain intact the whole Earth will implode.
And apparently there are growing middle classes in places like India that want the same standard of living as the American middle class. I do not see how it is ecologically possible for the American Dream to be globalized.
Of course, somebody is going to bring up overpopulation. Well, fertility rates have declined in the West. So we have fewer people consuming a greater amount of goods and services. And in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism Richard H. Robbins shows that the population explosion in the Third World is a myth. Fertility rates in the Third World have been steady, he shows. What has changed, I recall him saying, is that rates of consumption have increased.
Americans, maybe the most self-congratulatory people ever, like to remind themselves how industrious, resourceful and innovative they are. Yet, sustainability, learning how to be happy with less, etc. are things that Americans seem to be incapable of attempting, let alone realizing. Consuming less is never part of the equation, no matter what problem, issue or controversy is being addressed.
I have little power or clout, so I can't do much to address the problem. But I am doing my best to take responsibility for my role in the problem and minimize my contribution. It does not leave much time, money or energy for splitting hairs over things like abortion, same-sex marriage, evolution vs. creation, can there be morality without God, etc.