Consumption corridors, capitalism and social change

• Main Author: Elke Pirgmaier
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-12-01
• Series: Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
• Subjects: overconsumption; profit; power; justice; climate emergency; human needs
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1829846

Creating the conditions for everyone to live in dignity while respecting planetary boundaries is such a sensible idea with which no one can seriously disagree. Yet achieving it requires nothing less than a civilizational shift. Capitalism is a mode of production for profit, and systemic profits are predicated on the reproduction of structural inequalities. This establishes capitalism as a society in which people are structurally inclined toward taking advantage of each other. Profit-seeking, growth, and competition are systemic expressions of a culture in which self- and other-exploitation are normalized and institutionally protected. This article adopts a Marxian political economy perspective to understand consumption corridors in the context of the capitalist economy. I explain how and why sensible consumption corridors – sensible from social justice and planetary health perspectives – are difficult to envisage under capitalism. I then identify four leverage points for social change. Research can be mobilized to expose and resist narratives that protect overconsumption and ill-being; to enliven a vision of human liberation; to boost institutions out of solidarity, compassion, and love; and to act out of an awareness of the transformative power of language and intentions. Researchers are invited to change their self-conception from information providers to change facilitators.