Erin Pettigrew

Jul 21 2009 LINK
“ [A modern economist] is used to measuring the ’standard of living’ by the amount of annual consumption, assuming all the time that a man who consumes more is ‘better off’ than a man who consumes less. A Buddhist economist would consider this approach excessively irrational: since consumption is merely a means to human well-being, the aim should be to obtain the maximum of well-being with the minimum of consumption … Modern economics, on the other hand, considers consumption to be the sole end and purpose of all economic activity.
— E.F. Schumacher, an underappreciated economist (via SiftStar). Of note: the consumptive black hole toward which we’re trending turbulently. Currently doing some reading on alternatives to the ideal of constant, logarithmic growth. Anyone have suggestions?