New interpretation of sustainable life and economy
In the 1960ies and 1970ies, when a larger public became aware of the narrowness of natural resources, political parties like “die Grünen” in Germany constituted themselves to politically influence the situation. In order to reach the main goal of protecting the natural resources, the society shall modify its private and economic behavior in such a way, that a negative impact on the environment is avoided as far as possible.
In many cases, this leads to political goals and measures, which are perceived as a renouncement and thus as a potential loss (of quality of life or material goods), at least in short-termism. The partially bad reputation of the “Grünen” as a “proscription party” results from this.
Especially in Germany as one of the globally leading industrialized countries, this is also perceived as a threat to the economic performance.
This leads to the fundamental conflict between traditional politics (business as usual), which isn’t able to cope with the crises of ongoing environmental degradation, and an ambitious politics of environmental protection, which is hard to convey due to the (partially imaginary) renouncements, and many influential forces are battling against it.
New perspective
To overcome this conflict between limitless and partially meaningless consumption and a negatively connoted rhetoric of renouncement, I propose to consider our activities through the perspective of mindfulness. To do so, we need to develop criteria to determine their objective, real significance.
This is very difficult, because we herewith question the meaning of our existence, which can’t be answered in a universally valid manner. However, we can try to put our activities in a meaningful context and hence transcend the conflict described above. Thereby also the immaterial aspects are coming to the fore.
A mindful way of life means that in all what is beyond the necessary wie act consciously and try to give a meaning to all our activities. Consequently, consumption is neither forbidden nor negatively rated, but embedded in an individual narrative. We are becoming the curators of our own existence
Technology is the new green
In the 20th century, no substitutes were yet available for many environmentally harmful products and technologies. Insofar, renouncement to environmentally harmful behavior seemed to be the only or best solution. This attitude was often linked to a fundamental criticism of the notions of civilisation and progress.
Now there is a multitude of more sustainable new technologies, not or only slightly harmful for the environment.
Thus, there is a new approach: Technology is the new green!