The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius is a Latin phrase meaning Swifter, Higher, Stronger. This is pretty much also the essence of modern notions of progress. Swifter transport is considered better. Offices in ever higher buildings are sought after. Every nation wants to be stronger than the other. Pause a second, where are we headed? Swifter, higher, stronger but whither? Towards an exciting future? Maybe. Or maybe it is pointless to talk about a destination. Savour the journey. Exactly. Are we able to savour life's journey? Or are we lost in a never ending pursuit of faster cars/computers, better houses/mobile phones, stronger finances, more of everything?
Watch this delightful video that brings home the need for reducing consumption. Better technology mostly serves to improve the efficiency of the means of production. If the time and other resources gained in the process are merely employed to further increase production, then all we have done is to encourage even more consumption. No amount of technology can protect the earth if the efficiency gains result in even more consumption. As Mahatma Gandhi said "The earth has enough for everyone's needs, but falls far short of a single man's greed."
Interested in more of this kind of thinking? Read about the slow movement and about the death march of modern civilization.
Watch this delightful video that brings home the need for reducing consumption. Better technology mostly serves to improve the efficiency of the means of production. If the time and other resources gained in the process are merely employed to further increase production, then all we have done is to encourage even more consumption. No amount of technology can protect the earth if the efficiency gains result in even more consumption. As Mahatma Gandhi said "The earth has enough for everyone's needs, but falls far short of a single man's greed."
Interested in more of this kind of thinking? Read about the slow movement and about the death march of modern civilization.
