The document discusses the social psychology of consumption. It explores how and why nearly everyone consumes more than necessary for survival today. Marx's theory of historical materialism holds that people's material circumstances influence their ideas, which then compel them to change circumstances. Maslow's hierarchy of needs is also referenced to explain how basic needs must be met before pursuing higher-level needs. The document examines the concept of conspicuous consumption and the "treadmill of production" that drives overconsumption.
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A talk given by Dr. Andrew Jones on Sep 24, 2010, in the Biology Colloquium at California State University, Fresno. He presents a historical overview of how Sociology came to discover its place within a broader ecological context and began addressing the metabolic rift resulting from human activities on this planet. He also presents the conecptual framework for analysis being developed under the new Urban Long-Term Research Area - Fresno And Clovis Ecosocial Study (ULTRA-FACES) project.
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Problem = social relations of CAPITALISM
Environmental problems can be overcome without abandoning prospect of human progress
Fundamental social change to make sustainable relations to environment possible
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After World War II ended in 1945, Japan made a new start toward economic reconstruction as a democratic and pacifist state. Thanks to its highly educated and abundant labor force and to the concentration of capital and resources in certain key industries, such as electric power and steel, Japan succeeded in recovering from the ruins of war and achieving industrialization during the 1950s and 1960s.
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Similar to 1 29-13 social psychology of consumption (20)
2. Consumption and Materialism
• “The world has enough for
everybody’s need, but not for
everybody’s greed”- Gandhi.
• Today, aside from the very poor,
nearly everyone consumes more
than is necessary to survive.
Why?
– Relates to all three central issues
of environmentalism: i)
sustainability, ii) environmental
justice, iii) beauty of ecology
3. Materialism
• “The worker can create nothing
without nature, without the
sensuous external world”- Karl
Marx.
• Who would disagree with
this!?!
• All people everywhere have to 1818-1883
produce their means of
‘subsistence’ (livelihood). We
all depend on our
environments.
4. Marx’s Historical Materialism
• Human beings form ideas under the influence of material or environmental
circumstances. Such ideas then compel them to change circumstances.
There is free will, but history is not determined by these freely willed
intentions. The point of theory is to predict results, not intentions.
• Every society produces a surplus, and has different rules for determining
how this surplus wealth is distributed.
• Marx says that people’s way of producing a surplus influences (or
‘determines’) their ideas about how to distribute the surplus.
Material
Ideas
Circumstances
5. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
• Aesthetics
• Knowledge &
Understanding
Self-
Actualize
Esteem
Belonging and Abraham Maslow
Love 1908 - 1970
Safety
Physiological
6. The Original Affluent Society?
• Time allocation studies suggest that a typical
adult hunter-gatherer only needs to ‘work’ for
2 to 5 hours per day!
Uncontacted Tribes, Brazil, 2009
8. Before the Industrial Revolution
• Difficult to generalize, but based on historical
record, we can safely assume the following:
1. There was more leisure and less work
2. There was much less etiquette than
today
9. Leisure time
• Working hours under capitalism
(at their peak) increased by more
than 50 percent from Medieval
period.
• Work was intermittent, depended
on season:
breakfast, lunch, afternoon
nap, dinner breaks
• General pace was far slower and
more leisurely- (based on
evidence of caloric intake)
• Consciousness of time was
radically different: there were no
clocks!
10. Leisure time
• Medieval Europe
– In Medieval England, about 1/3rd of
the year devoted to leisure
– In Medieval France, 52 Sundays
off, 90 guaranteed rest days, 38
holidays
– In Medieval Spain, 5 months per
year were devoted to vacation
• Antiquity
– Athenians had 50-60 holidays
annually
– By mid 4th century, Roman
calendar designated 175 official
public festival days
11. Conspicuous Consumption
• What is conspicuous
consumption? Why do we do
it?
• We are motivated not only be
interests, but also by what Thorstein Veblen
Veblen calls ‘sentiments’ 1857 - 1929
– Goods distinguish us from others
in a hierarchy, and also show that
we belong to one group (and not
another)
12. The Treadmill of Production
• Why are we stuck on this
treadmill? Can we get off?