Runtime: 36 Minutes
This documentary first appeared on UK television and it is currently available on YouTube where I have assembled the 4 parts into a playlist for your convenience. While this is longer than the average post here and technically it's not a web video, I think that UK Television is a different enough system from our own mainstream media that their perspectives can be valuable over here at times. This in particular is a very important subject that we hardly ever hear about. The only consumption people talk about these days is oil and electricity. They forget that even if they use green power and take a zero emissions car to the store, the stuff they buy at the store burned oil and electricity too. . .along with the mining of resources to make it and the human exploitation to build it. .
Jonathon Porrit is a British writer and political insider who you could think of as the British version of our own Al Gore. He was the co-chair of their version of the green party and he was appointed by the prime minister as the chairman of the UK Sustainable Development Commission in July of 2000.
In this documentary, he explores the problems with and solutions for the new religion of the modern era, consumerism. Today people have learned to feel they can buy any amount of junk they want to and then throw it away to buy a newer junk 2 years later. If we wanted everyone on earth to live this way we would need 2 extra planets worth of resources. How long can we sustain this?
Friday, June 15, 2007
Documentary: Jonathon Porritt - Consumerism
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2 comments:
Plisko,
You have written about Jonathon Porritt and Consumerism.
Before Industrialization humans killed Environment primarily for Food. After industrialization humans are killing environment for Food and [unnecessary]Consumer Goods.
Industrial Society is destroying necessary things[Animals, Trees, Air, Water and Land] for making unnecessary things[Consumer Goods].
In this context I want to post a part from my article which examines the impact of Speed, Overstimulation, Consumerism and Industrialization on our Minds and environment. Please read.
Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.
The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be peaceful if we destroy Nature.
The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues.
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the planet.
Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion.
Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.
When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go on decreasing.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.
People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.
Emotion ends.
Man becomes machine.
A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.
Fast visuals/ words make slow emotions extinct.
Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys emotional circuits.
A fast (large) society cannot feel pain / remorse / empathy.
A fast (large) society will always be cruel to Animals/ Trees/ Air/ Water/ Land and to Itself.
To read the complete article please follow any of these links :
PlanetSave
FreeInfoSociety
ePhilosopher
Corrupt
sushil_yadav
Thanks for that Sushil I will read it with interest.
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