'How Much Is Enough?'

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that the solution proposed by Alan During in his book 'How Much Is Enough?' to create a new ethic in the industrialized world based upon need rather than consumption, is ultimately ineffective. According to the paper, practical solutions would have to generate a more long-standing lifestyle change.

From the Paper:

"Also, During seems blind to a number of shifts in American culture, shifts that have been occurring since the stress upon going back to nature and natural products that have existed since the 1970s. According to Alan B. During's How Much Is Enough, in the industrialized world the more one consumes the higher one's status. But although During asserts that fashionable people "measure success" by how much they consume, the idea of not consuming is has become increasingly popular amongst the affluent. During notes a sobering economic statistic about social inequity on a global level--the world has 202 billionaires, but 100 million homeless. (During, 1992, p.22) But these billionaires are not necessarily the individuals who generate the highest levels of consumption with the greatest proportion of their income--in fact, billionaires have the luxury of using very little of their income to consume, and instead use it to reinvest their money to generate more revenue for themselves and their businesses. The poorer one is, the more of one's income one must use to sustain one's life by buying basic necessities."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Durning, Alan B. How Much Is Enough? Consumer Society and the future of the earth.World Watch Environmental Alert Series. W.W. Norton, 1992.
• Casal, Elena & Hanton, Nicolas.(Summer 2003) "A little credit goes a long way: The global microfinance movement: a proverb that says ready money workes great cures." EconSouth. 13 Feb 2006.<http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0KXG/is_2_5/ai_106389241>
• Klienfield, NR. (26 Jan 2006) "Living at an epicenter of diabes: defiance and despair." The New York Times. 13 Feb 2006. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/10/nyregion/nyregionspecial5/10diabetes.html?ei=5070&en=339cfb71ee9a54ec&ex=1139979600&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1139837815-gnYch48LdDv8MiXXZQ4Hcw

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