Comment 30866

By David (anonymous) | Posted May 07, 2009 at 09:54:03

I've often wondered if the competing interests of economic growth and sustainability could be reconciled by a consumer shift away from material consumption to that of services and human 'skill commodities' (for lack of a better term). What I mean is, instead of directing disposable income towards the accumulation of more stuff, bigger houses, etc, we might choose immaterial luxuries based on different types of human expertise, for example, dining, the arts, patronage of household services, recreational instruction, weekly shiatsu massage, whatever. I'm sure my rational isn't perfect (and I doubt this is a truly original idea), but it seems that this pattern of consumption would exact less of an environmental toll than the accumulation of material 'stuff' and offer the pleasant side benefit of increased demand for local human capital.
Thoughts?

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