User:Jean-Michel de Senneville

Curbing Consumption Towards Happiness

As a politician in Mauritius, I have for years advocated the need for a SCALE OF WELL-BEING to replace the inappropriate GDP that would be capable of measuring the degree of comfort of individuals, groups, communities and the nation as a whole; and which would take into account sustainable development and future security in all spheres of human life which contribute directly and indirectly to personal satisfaction and hopefully, happiness.

Everyone knows that GDP is an obsolete measure of progress as it does not measure general progress in health, life expectancy, education, literacy, conditions of public infrastructure, fuel efficiency, community and leisure. More importantly, GDP mystifies and masks the increasing gap between the rich and the poor. I believe that moving out of GDP should become a real and pressing policy question.

But, as one can well imagine and this is no doubt the reason underlying the lack of enthusiasm by the authorities about it, my appeal for a broader and more accurate measure of individual and national contentment calls for answers to new questions which clearly reveal that the prevailing ultra-liberal economic development policy based on increased human consumption locally and abroad is not and cannot be the appropriate and sustainable means to enhance the human quality of life. It is simply an impossibility. Because the resources around the globe cannot match the objective of a Western lifestyle for everyone on earth. However governments in Mauritius and in most countries are reluctant to consider alternatives to the capitalist system and do feel uncomfortable with anything that leads to the realization that economic growth is not everything and economic prosperity does not guarantee health, longevity and happiness.

It is a fact that the idea of an increasing number of people deciding to live more simply with less by downsizing to the essentials, thus turning their back to the consumer society, looking down on their exaggerations and motives, advocating and adopting a more satisfying lifestyle with no or a lot less of everything that surrounds us to-day, is indeed a nightmare to the world's corporations, industrialists, business people, bankers and governments who contribute with glee to the multiplication of shopping centres which have become the new temples for worshipers of money and all it can buy.

Although everywhere in the world there is public disapproval of the market economy and a strong public outcry to re-think capitalism which has obviously failed us in so many ways, economists will tell us that my suggestion and any restraint in consumer behaviour can only lead to a financial collapse and world economic disaster with unemployment, fights, famine and death of individuals and nations.

Before contemplating the alternative in a positive way, one is entitled to wonder why the world is in such a precarious situation to-day. Then one would very soon discover how far the prevailing world economic and financial system has taken us all down a catastrophic but so-called progressive path with debt-ridden mono-crop nations incapable of feeding their own population and whose fate are in the hands of very few global “bullies” who control world commodity prices, the supply and value of money, and who can make or break whole nations locked in an intertwined world economy whose share value on the world's stock exchanges is more than 300 times its real value. This is a wild fantasy resting on human greed and fueled by vested interest in the media.

The fundamental question is whether any individual, group or nation can now decide to opt out of this global tyranny and how? As I think that this would only be possible for individuals, groups and small communities to free themselves from the “system” and start a new and more realistic way of life, one should look at the only ray of hope which is coming from our inner-self.

Like it or not, social justice to-day dictates that improving living standards in poorer countries can only be achieved in parallel with declining resource consumption in richer ones.

So, are we individually ready to “walk the talk”, to free ourselves from the overbearing and all encompassing calling of the consumer society with all its advertising, promotion, easy credit and false promises, to work towards the essentials of life and to genuinely enjoy a new simple lifestyle with the knowledge that by living simply, we simply allow others to live? We can only try! And I am pleased to tell those of you who are interested that I have personally already done the first steps during the last three years. It is not an easy or obvious road to follow. But I can assure you that everyday brings an additional feeling of joy and satisfaction of being somewhat “detached”, more “untouchable” and more free to act and be one true self. In this way, one feels stronger and more apt to face any challenge, including that of death. Because I think that in walking the line towards the essentials, one progressively feels more in tune with the larger world around us, its beauty and its strength, energized by a deeper sense of human understanding and solidarity, and carried by a fine spirit. It is a gradual discovery that is so exhilarating at times, that one would wish to be able to go faster down this path of light. It certainly brings happiness. So, I encourage you to try it!

And may I also invite you to please let me know (a) what you think of my suggestion for a new scale of well-being (or contentment); (b) if Mauritius and other countries would benefit by adopting it, and (c) if increased consumption leads to individual well-being and happiness. Thank you for your anticipated contribution to this most important issue facing humanity to-day and for which I believe we do have the solution with technical innovation, human creativity, environmental regulation, greater efficiency and above all, behavioural change.

Note: Although it is not directly in line with what I advocate, you may find it interesting to explore HDI, the “Human Development Index” used by the United Nations Development Programme; GPI, the “Genuine Progress Indicator” which includes aspects of social welfare, income equity, pollution and health-care; and the HPI, the “Happy Planet Index” which measures the well-being of people in the nations of the world by taking into account their environmental impact. It assesses social and economic well-being in the context of resources used, looking at the degree of human happiness generated per quantity of environment consumed. And if one was to rate the nations of the world in terms of ecological efficiency with which well-being is delivered, Costa Rica would top the list because of their long life expectancy, high life satisfaction and a per capita ecological footprint a quarter the size of that of the United States. We should also note with gratitude the effort of Britain, France and Germany in contemplating alternative measures of progress other than GDP; and especially President Sarkozy who has set-up a special commission to come-up with a better measurement system.

JEAN-MICHEL de SENNEVILLE Union Mauricienne (Political Party) senneville@intnet.mu 2 March 2011