The word “lebensraum” meaning “living space” has been on my mind again recently. That’s because we humans never seem to be satisfied no matter how much we have. Maybe that’s because we think “contentment” means “complacency” and they are not the same thing at all! How can we get ourselves to be content with what we have, and expanding much more in terms of production not seduction?
Perhaps one way is to stop comparing with others and focusing so much on “competition”. GDP measurements come to mind. “Happiness Indexes” are another. Common currencies are yet another. How does one determine “value”? Compared to what? Are the quantities or qualities actually comparable? What would it cost for a nation to “raise its value” according to some set of arbitrary “standards”? Would the trappings that make a New Yorker happy be enjoyed by Eskimos who simply want to be left alone to enjoy life? Is it permissible for someone else to enjoy things in life that you sniff at? Why should nations like Suriname be encouraged to let their rich forests lie, without any thought of silviculture, because it is perceived to make up for “carbon capture” and also help oxygenate the world? Having squandered our own respective lebensraum, are we entitled to convince others to live complacently under the guise of being contentedly happy while we devise ways to profit ourselves from their blissful ignorance of lack?
If we really wish to enjoy increasing productivity, ecological productivity, morally astute productivity, then we need to produce more with what we have presently, and if we be so blessed, to find like-minded others and form an archipelago of ecological production.
You might like these as well.
Necessary Numbers: https://elijahconsulting.com/necessary-numbers/
Seven Billion: https://elijahconsulting.com/seven-billion/
The Fresh Connection: https://elijahconsulting.com/the-fresh-connection/
It’s easy! Just a little bit! The former village boy: https://elijahconsulting.com/easy-little-bit-former-village-boy/
GDP. Gratefulness Drives Productivity: https://youtu.be/fgEmj_nmttY
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