March 22, 2020

Problem / Solution: our current economic system relies on endless growth

Fellow Conformist,

I hope this missive finds you and yours safe and well in this uncertain, scary time.

Our culture is in a time of crisis. It was before coronavirus came onto the scene, but coronavirus has exposed the fragility of our systems.

A few days without customers, and small businesses have been forced to lay off their workers, restaurants to close their doors for good. Margins are that tight. So many people are suddenly out of work that mortgage payments and evictions are being put on moratorium, and utilities are not doing shutoffs for nonpayment.

This pandemic is exacerbating the already horrific gap between rich and poor, between white collar and blue collar work, between indie creators and big business. It’s almost like there are two pandemics playing out. White collar workers are switching to telecommuting and mourning the collapse of their 401k’s – but the hardest hit are those who had little safety cushion to start with, restaurant or retail or service workers who may find themselves unemployed, without health insurance, forced to go to the store (and risk exposure) more often because they don’t have extra money to stockpile food, and facing the prospect of losing their housing if they can’t get a new paycheck soon.

Our society’s bill for inequality has come due. Right now, our economic system demands constant growth. Everyone must endlessly consume more, more, more, to maintain profits. But now, the stock market tumbles headlong as everyone realizes how long this situation – storefronts shuttered, consumers unable to shop, travelers not willing to take trips, people not having extra money to spend – will last, and how long it will take to navigate the repercussions of twenty percent or more of the populace having their livelihoods ripped from them.

Our economic system is not resilient. There is no cushion – by design. When profit (especially short-term profit demanded by the stock market) is your main driver, there is little incentive to have a buffer, when maintaining a buffer has costs. This has led us to a world where even in the United States, a wealthy nation, we have a severe shortage of hospital beds, ventilators, and trained nursing staff, and sick people are going to work because they don’t have sick leave or health insurance.

Even before coronavirus emerged, the environmental damages of rampant oil-fueled capitalism have been presenting themselves in the form of cataclysmic fires (Australia’s bushfires were somehow only a few months ago), devastating flooding, longer and stronger hurricane seasons, and, at Bureau headquarters in the Pacific Northwest, the slow-speed-yet-seemingly-unstoppable collapse of two intertwined species that symbolize our region, the salmon and the Southern Resident orca. But in its current form, our American society is predicated on a cheap supply of energy that allows us to live far from where we work, ship products and food across the world instead of producing them locally, and create products so cheaply that they are intended to be disposed after a single use.

When we come out on the other end of our shelters-in-place and self-quarantines, our world will look a lot different. Favorite local businesses will be gone for good. Downtowns will be full of empty windows. Some people will learn that telecommuting works just fine for them and resist returning to the office; others who couldn’t telecommute may be out of a job. The businesses hiring will be online suppliers, not local shops.

To transition to a more resilient and human-centric system, instead of rebuilding the same thing that we have now, we’ll need to be creative and outspoken about our vision. And so, today, I’m sharing some models that could lead us into a better future.

Changing society on this scale is hard - but not impossible. Together, Conformists can conceive a vision for the future where our needs are fulfilled without massive environmental harm, our communities support all our members and are more self-sufficient, and we don’t need to spend so much of our lives working. We can lead by example in our own lives to change social norms and advocate for systemic changes.

I would love to hear your ideas or vision for the future. I welcome you to share your thoughts with me at director@bureauofconformity.us.

Yours in Conformity,

Drake Starling
Director, Bureau of Conformity

Problem / Solution

Problem: Our current economic system demands constant growth.

That harms Conformists by valuing us chiefly as drivers of economic growth - both as contributors through our work, and as consumers through our purchases. Our current model of production strips resources from the planet at an unsustainable pace, and wastes those resources through thoughtless design and short-term thinking.

Recommended Reading

• Work Less, Gain More? The 4 Day Working Week by the Rapid Transition Alliance

Solution 1: Participate in more human-centric systems.

Already in your community, there are more human-scale models of trade, some involving money, some barter, some simply based on generosity. Participating in the sharing and bartering economy can help you get to know more people in your neighborhood and community. When it is safe to connect with others outside of your family again, think about

• Time banking allows members to trade an hour of their skilled time for an hour of someone else’s skilled time, facilitating indirect exchanges of assistance.
• Neighborhood sharing groups like the Buy Nothing Project let neighbors gift and receive things from their neighbors, given solely from generosity with no reciprocation required.
• Little Free Libraries and Little Free Pantries make the exchange of books and food amongst neighbors easy.

Solution 2: Support businesses that practice more sustainable models, and independent creators.

• B Corporations commit to balancing profit with social and environmental impacts, doing good through their business.
• Directly support artists and creatives through patronage systems like Patreon and Kickstarter.
• Worker-owned collectives and other types of cooperatives are businesses that are run by their own workers.

The Bureau recognizes that supporting these types of businesses is often more expensive and an economic privilege that not all Conformists are able to afford under our current system, and especially in this challenging time.

Solution 3: Advocate for more human-centered models of success.

• Distinguish hours worked from productivity. Studies of reduced work weeks show that workers are happier - and just as productive - when they work fewer hours.

• At a national / worldwide scale, alternative systems for assessing a country’s success exist versus pure economic growth, such as the Happiness Index.

• A circular economy - versus our current linear economy - designs out waste and creates goods in a way that keeps materials in use.