Ever heard of Productivism !

In the last article, I explored how the global environmental crisis is simply positioned to fall onto the consumers but isn't actually at the core of the problem. I established that consumerism is in fact, facilitated by productivism, the incessant need to produce more. Understanding this distinction becomes very important when we think of solving the problem. Merely trying to fix consumerism is a futile exercise; it’s the deeper layer of productivism that we need to understand and address for any real impact.

What is Productivism?

Productivism is the belief that the purpose of the human organization is to increase productivity and to strive for infinite economic growth by all means. This makes increasing productivity the primary goal of all socio-economic activities. Be it the education system or work life or social life; this doctrine has systematically configured all aspects of our life to fuel the engine of the productivist economy. Politically too, the economies of most countries are productivist in nature.

The educational institutes are a major supplier of skilled workforce, trained specifically for industrial and technical practices. This predominantly economic approach to workforce development often leaves workers environmentally illiterate, blinding them to the environmental impact of such industrial practices.

Producing stuff inherently isn't an evil thing. Productivism has led to a significant rise in the standards of living of humans, improved healthcare facilities and provides employment to a large part of the population. 

When we say, "increasing productivity by all means”, the problem isn't the "productivity" part; the problem starts somewhere around the "increasing it" part and becomes truly troublesome at the "by all means" part. 

It’s a finite planet

It’s only natural for any system to keep improving and enhance its efficiency, be it natural systems, production systems or economic systems. In biology, this improvement is called evolution, whereas in the economic system it is often associated with increased productivity. In businesses, this is done primarily in two ways, either by scaling up or by improving efficiency. Nothing wrong with any of that.

The problem arises when the various feedback and adverse consequences are overlooked in the quest of increasing productivity. When businesses fixate themselves on increasing the financial profits at any cost, they start to exploit natural and human resources. The accountability to prevent such exploitation from happening lies within the political and legal framework, but these systems have also lost their integrity, gone greedy and corrupt, and can be easily compromised by the industrial forces. And so the human exploitation and environmental degradation continue.

Although it is theoretically possible to have infinite economic growth on a finite planet. As per the law of conservation of mass, the matter can neither be created nor destroyed, and we have additional energy coming from the sun every day, so it is theoretically possible to drive infinite economic growth. Only if we could find a way to use all of that wasted material and CO₂ as a resource and utilize it in some value-generating activity, we can keep expanding our economy forever. But right now, we are very far from any such possibility and will continue to depend on the extracted resources for our energy and material needs. Such economic growth can't continue indefinitely on a planet with finite resources.

“The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” - Gandhi.

Not only that, such an unsustainable economy gives birth to a plethora of other environmental and societal problems. The current economic system benefits only a particular section of society, leads to the accumulation of wealth to a few, facilitates mindless consumption, and results in numerous mental health issues.

Environmental Degradation

The most widespread and evident outcome of the productivist economy is environmental degradation. Productivism has caused rapid extraction and consumption, impacting our natural ecosystem in a number of different ways. 

Extraction and manufacturing activities are major reasons for habitat destruction, hence biodiversity loss. Production systems also utilize a lot of water, around 20% of total freshwater withdrawal, resulting in water scarcity across the globe. Consumption results in the generation of over 2 billion tonn garbage per year worldwide, creating the global waste crisis. All these activities are also responsible for carbon emissions (over 36 billion tons per year), air and water pollution, and of course, climate change.

The environment is unable to replenish resources at the pace they're being consumed and unable to absorb human waste at the rate they are being produced, resulting in overall environmental destruction.

Social injustice - Productivist economy breeds income inequality

One may think that income inequality can be attributed to differences in talent and skill, but that is not entirely true. It is largely driven by differences in capital inheritance and economic forces. Differences in inherited wealth create differences in education, healthcare, and available opportunities which can lead to significant income inequality down the road.

Once the wealth is accumulated, either by hard work or inheritance, it takes a momentum of its own. The accumulated capital is used as an investment in new businesses, which generate more profit for the capital owner, which can further be invested in another new business, and the cycle continues. Investors can keep doing this and accumulate a large sum of capital in no time. This is how the rich get richer.

On the other side, the exploitation of small producers and laborers has increased significantly over the years to keep the corporate costs down. Mass production often relies on exploitative working conditions, reducing wages and benefits, and employing child labor. In the last 30 years in the US, an increase in the income of the bottom 50% has been zero. In 1980, a cocoa farmer used to get an 18% value of a chocolate bar, and now they receive just 6%. This is an example of externalizing the cost, making that poor farmer pay the 12% cost of the final product. This is how the poor get poorer.

Much of the waste and carbon emission is generated by rich people,  but it’s the poor population who is exposed to this waste and pollution and is more vulnerable to its hazardous consequences like extreme weather.

“Across the world, people are being left behind. Their wages are stagnating yet corporate bosses take home million dollar bonuses; their health and education services are cut while corporations and the super-rich dodge their taxes; their voices are ignored as governments sing to the tune of big business and a wealthy elite.”   Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of Oxfam International

Cultural degradation

The productivist system fuels hyper-consumerism, the belief that people have to consume more, beyond their needs. Businesses study our believes, feelings, thoughts, and perceptions to design new products which the consumer may not even consciously feel the need of. Then these new products are pushed into the market with heavy advertising, persuading people to make purchases they otherwise wouldn't have.

This leads to a materialistic society where traditional values and ways of life diminish over time. Sustainable values such as thrift, resourcefulness, and frugality are looked down upon; a person's social value is tied to his contribution to this consumption culture and social fabric of culture starts to degrade.

Some aspects of this consumerist culture have resulted in startling anomalies, such as diversion of valuable resources towards nonessential things. 

"The worldwide annual expenditures for cosmetics total U.S. $18 billion; the estimate for annual expenditures required to eliminate hunger and malnutrition is $19 billion. Expenditures on pet food in the United States and Europe total $17 billion a year; the estimated cost of immunizing every child, providing clean drinking water for all, and achieving universal literacy is $16.3 billion." Worldwatch Institute, 2004

Psychological issues - Effects of productivism and consumerism on mental health

Productivism has made paid employment a permanent and compulsory feature of human existence, regardless of its consequences. While employment provides a safe and comfortable life, it also results in several health issues in the modern workforce.

Long hours, heavy workload, tight deadlines, toxic work culture are among a few causes of work-related stress. Long hours at work can also result in less time spent with friends and family, which only adds up to the stress. Prolonged work-related stress can result in high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, sleeping difficulties, heart disease and substance abuse.

"Work defines whether or not individuals feel worthwhile or socially valued." -  Anthony Giddens

Consumerism makes people feel inadequate and insecure the way they are, because only that will get them to buy more stuff, so that they can feel happier. A culture rooted in a narrative of consumerism, success and happiness is associated with having more possessions. Studies have shown that these continuous desire for material goods is responsible for the deterioration of mental well being of consumers.

Consumerism makes us discontent, unhappy, anxious, depressed, anti-social, lonely racist, just to name a few. Constant exposure to advertisements sets unrealistic standards of beauty and success, lowering the self-esteem of people. It is safe to say that materialistic pursuits are reducing our overall life satisfaction more than ever.

"Compared with their grandparents, today's young adults have grown up with much more affluence, slightly less happiness and much greater risk of depression and assorted social pathology. Our becoming much better off over the last four decades has not been accompanied by one iota of increased subjective well-being. " David G. Myers, American Psychologist Vol 55.

I hope now you have a better understanding of how the economy, environment, and society are all interlinked with each other. In the popular narrative around climate change, we only hear about the environmental damage, but I feel it is very important to understand that climate change’s fundamental origin lies in the subjects of economy, and in the big picture it affects our society and culture as well. This whole research has definitely helped me figure out where to put my efforts and what kind of efforts would yield maximum impact. Hope it helps you too!