Beyond Sacrifice: The Relationship Between Sustainability and Quality of Life

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Beyond Sacrifice The Relationship Between
Sustainability and Quality of Life

• Joshua Farley
• Assistant Professor, Community Development and
  Applied Economics
• Fellow, Gund Institute for Ecological Economics
• University of Vermont

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An Economists Perspective

• Economics is the allocation of scarce resources
  among alternative desirable ends
• Not very different from politics
• What is the first question an economist must ask?

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What are the desirable ends?

• Until we know what the desirable ends are, we
  cant possibly figure out how to allocate
  resources towards them
• If you don't know where you are going, you will
  wind up somewhere else."

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Desirable Ends

• A high quality of life for this and future
  generations.

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QOL as the desirable end

• We all agree on this definition because its
  vague
• The need for sustainability is explicit, but
  otherwise this doesnt tell us how to allocate
  resources
• Economics (and society) requires an explicit
  vision of a sustainable future that provides a
  high QOL

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What creates a high quality of life?

• What is the conventional definition that drives
  the status quo?
• Is it desirable?
• Is it sustainable?
• What are alternatives?
• Are they desirable?
• Are they sustainable?
• Where does the conventional definition come from?
• Where should the definition come from?
• The relationship between sustainability, quality
  of life and visions of the future

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What ends does our society currently pursue?

• Endless economic growth, more material
  consumption
• Why has the US failed to sign on to the Kyoto
  Protocol?
• Why cant women and children eat fish from
  Vermont?
• We consume more than we produce

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Is Endless Growth Desirable?

• Whats the current economic growth rate?
• NYT Headline Pockets of Concern Slow a Strong
  U.S. EconomyIF you believe most statistics, the
  national economy is doing quite well. Corporate
  profits are soaring. Consumer spending and
  business investment have been growing at a
  healthy clip. In the third quarter of last year,
  output expanded at an annual pace of about 4.1
  percent. And private-sector economists are
  expecting growth above 3.5 percent this year.
• How long does it take to double consumption?
• Resource consumption has increased 36x last
  century
• How many more times should we double consumption?

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What makes people unhappy?

• Pursuit of material gainyoung adults who focus
  on money, image and fame tend to be more
  depressed, have less enthusiasm for life and
  suffer more physical symptoms such as headaches
  and sore throats than others.
• Comparing yourself with others
• Status is a never-ending tread-mill

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Is Endless Growth Desirable?

• The laws of physics and the opportunity costs of
  growth
• The Genuine progress indicator
• Happiness studies

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ISEW
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Is Endless Growth Sustainable?

• Growth and a finite planet

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Renewables
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Waste Emissions
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Ecological footprint
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Is the Market the Driver of Economic Growth, or
Is Energy?

• Patent on steam engine 1767
• Wealth of nations 1776
• One barrel of oil 25,000 hrs human labor
• Our oil consumption increases our work capacity
  by 340 hrs per day

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Growth and Energy
Past 100 years population increase 4X
resource consumption 36X
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The Hubbert curve-discovery
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The Hubbert curve-production
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Global Oil Production and US GDP
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Electricity Use and GDP US
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The Current Vision

• We may be lost, but were making great time
• Shoveling fuel for a runaway train

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Quality of life as the fulfillment of human needs

• Much more than consumption
• Market goods only one of many human needs
• Satiation occurs
• Needs constant across cultures, how we satisfy
  them differs

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Quality of Life as Subjective Well Being

• What makes people happy?
• Money?
• (Not very, and only relative wealth once basic
  needs are met)
• Desiring less
• Friends
• Marriage
• Religion/community
• Helping others

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Enhancing Human Needs and Subjective Well Being
Is it Sustainable?

• Satiation
• Satisfiers

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Where does our current vision come from?

• Advertising tells us consumption will meet all of
  our needs
• We consume, but our needs are not met.
• Pseudo-satisfiers
• Answer is to consume more
• Advertising and quality of life
• Advertising is a public bad
• The airwaves are public property

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Where Should a Vision Come From?

• Democracy vs. plutocracy
• The need for shared visions
• Finding common ground
• It is critical for visions to be shared because
  only shared visions can be responsible
• Envisioning is a continuous process, not a one
  time thing

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How do we Create a Shared Vision?
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Quality of Life, Sustainability, and Positive
Visions of the Future

• The status quo is neither sustainable or
  desirable
• We are currently sacrificing our quality of life
  on the altar of consumption
• We will be forced into alternative paths
• Those who promote the status quo vision as
  desirable must become the prophets of doom and
  gloom

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Quality of Life, Sustainability, and Positive
Visions of the Future

• Enhancing Quality of Life is inherently
  sustainable
• Sustainability is not a sacrifice