Collision course

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 21:10:12 +0000

I'm reading Mastery by George Leonard which is a book that feels right as you read it. It seems to have quite a lot to teach me. One of my major self-criticisms is as myself as a dabbler. It really worries me the idea that, when I hit the next plateau in karate, I might get discouraged. Reading Leonard reminds me that, if I remember that I am not doing it to hit some arbitrary goal (black belt is nice, but just a stage in the journey) but because I enjoy it, that I will overcome.

Something Leonard wrote about society (and how we are addicted to "climaxes") and, in particular, Western society struck me especially hard. Writing in 1992 he said:

The victory is real and celebration is in order. But so is some cautious self-examination, for there's perhaps no more dangerous time for any society than its moment of greatest triumph. It would be truly foolish to let the decline of communism blind us to the long-term contradictions in a free-market economy unrestrained by considerations of the environment and social justice, and driven by heedless consumerism, instant gratification, and the quick fix. Our dedication to growth at all costs puts us on a collision course with the environment. Our dedication to the illusion of endless climaxes puts us on a collision course with the human psyche.

I am for the free market because nothing else I know of provides the copious opportunities of the market while also employing the feedback mechanisms that allows us to evolve and respond to new challenges.

However I believe the market must be tempered by our reason, our compassion, and our good sense. The market allows us to be thoughtless hedonists but we should choose not to be.

And there in lies the difficulty.

Curiouser and Curiouser! on consumerism

Collision course