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A New Philosophy for Sustainable Consumerism
Summary
This article discusses the challenge of reconciling sustainability goals with growth-based economies, using microplastic entry into the food chain as one example of the environmental costs of current consumption patterns. The author proposes a theoretical framework for enabling economic growth while maintaining long-term planetary health.
With growing awareness of unsustainable practices, communities are forcing businesses and governments to take serious steps towards sustainability. Microplastics enter the food chain and eventually reach humans. The threat of global warming and recurrent climate disasters necessitate immediate action. However, all governments and corporations rely on an ‘increase in demand’ as a growth metric, which prevents them from doing anything meaningful to ensure our planet’s long-term viability. Against the above paradox, this article explores a compromise between sustainability, consumption, and economic growth. It is a theoretical framework for proposing a solution in which businesses can expand in tandem with our planet’s long-term future or a glance through the areas where the Keynesian economy can coexist with environmentalists’ concerns. The proposed framework claims significance in terms of practicality than the perfection of a solution.
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