Ethics of Consumption

The Good Life, Justice, and Global Stewardship

David A. Crocker, Toby Linden

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2000
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9780585165301
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Political Philosophy

Scholars in diverse fields now agree on the importance of investigating the impact of consumption practices on the global environment, quality of life, and international justice. In this comprehensive collection of essays, most of which appear for the first time, eminent scholars from many disciplines-philosophy, economics, sociology, political science, demography, theology, history, and social psychology-examine the causes, nature, and consequences of present-day consumption patterns in the United States and throughout the world. Specifically, the essays evaluate the impact of consumption practices on our own lives, our institutions, other people, and the environment. The contributors give explicit attention to the principles relevant for a consumption ethic, as well as to the policies and practices that such an ethic permits or requires. These engaging, jargon-free essays frame the problem of consumption in a variety of ways, challenging readers to see the issue from new perspectives. For scholars and students from across the disciplines, as well as for environmental and consumer activists, this volume will serve as the touchstone for discussions of consumption and global stewardship.

Table of contents

• Philosophy and the Global Context
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• List of Tables
• Table of Figures
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• 1 - Consumption: Value Added, Physical Transformation, and Welfare
• 2 - Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics
• 3 - Reply to Mark Sagoff’s “Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics”
• 4 - Limits to Consumption and Economic Growth: The Middle Ground
• 5 - Food, Feed, and Land
• 6 - The Case Against the Consumption of Grain-Fed Meat
• 7 - The Political Economy of Consumption
• 8 - A New Economic Critique of Consumer Society
• 9 - Consuming Goods and the Good of Consuming
• 10 - Consuming Because Others Consume
• 11 - Consumer Expenditures and the Growth of Need-Required Income
• 12 - Alternatives to the Consumer Society
• 13 - The Road Not Taken: Friendship, Consumerism, and Happiness
• 14 - Delectable Materialism: Second Thoughts on Consumer Culture
• 15 - Consumption As Culture: A Desert Example
• 16 - The Living Standard
• 17 - The Good As Discipline, the Good As Freedom
• 18 - Living at a High Economic Standard: A Functionings Analysis
• 19 - Consumption, Well-Being, and Capability
• 20 - “The Earth Is the Lord’s and the Fullness Thereof”: Jewish Perspectives on Consumption
• 21 - The Ethics of Consumption: A Roman Catholic View
• 22 - On the Subversive Virtue: Frugality
• 23 - Natural Resource Consumption: North and South
• 24 - Consumption and Population
• 25 - A Global Resources Dividend
• 26 - Consumption, Appropriation, and Stewardship
• 27 - Consumption As a Topic for the North-South Dialogue
• Index of Names
• Index of Subjects
• About the Contributors