Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth?

Last week I took a book out of my local library on a whim that was called Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth? and, so far at least, I’ve found it to contain some very intriguing ideas. In a nutshell, the book is a collection of writings from a diverse mix of people about climate change. What really got my attention though was about how this was tied into the whole idea of living a good life, dismissing common notions on what that actually means and, in particular, providing an often vicious indictment of how the pursuit of our current ad-driven consumer/hedonistic notion of what a good life is, is damaging not only to the planet but ourselves.

I’ve only read a couple of chapters so far but already something struck me that I could relate to, and it inspired me to write this post. As the book notes, the latest research on consumerism, materialism and the search for ever greater wealth has proved that it does not automatically translate into greater happiness and wellbeing (in other words, money doesn’t buy you happiness). Yet, this is what huge swathes of Western society in particular have based their entire life ethos on.

Research has also further shown that once you’re making enough money to cover your basic needs, the happiness gains from increasing amounts of cash drop off significantly. In other words, once you’ve made enough money to pay the bills each month, have a roof over your head and buy the groceries each week, to feel further significant contentment in your life from consumerism, you need to work much harder, put in more hours and expose yourself to further stress and responsibilities.

And that’s where things fall apart. Working your ass off for longer hours isn’t really my idea of fun, regardless of how much extra it puts in the bank account. Sure I can buy a new car, a bigger TV or another game for my Xbox but the problem with consuming for happiness is that the novelty wears off. It”s called lifestyle inflation. I might enjoy the buzz of speeding around in my new sports car now, but I will get used to it, it will become as normal as driving an Honda or Ford was back when I was a student, and then what? An even more expensive car? It’s not quite drug addiction but the symptoms are similar.

Consistent levels of happiness have been shown to come from such things as relationships, health, meaningful work and indulging in hobbies and interests. But if you’re working all the time in the pursuit of a big payday you’re going to have neither the time or the motivation to pursue any of that. It’s very much a case of putting your energies into the wrong things.

I think the reason this whole idea really struck with me is that I myself don’t work full time hours. One of the benefits of that is I’m rarely worn out or stressed out when I get home everyday, but I do have the time and energy to indulge in this blog and my writing… and I can genuingly enjoy those interests day in and day out. As the book states, when you’re not spending your wages on the latest gadget or tangible product, you’re reducing your dependence on those wages, which in turn means you don’t need to work as hard or as often. And when you stop working and stop spending you can start living.