The unsustainable consumerist culture

The rise of the capitalism along-with overproduction has been fuelled by a change in the consumer behavior as well. No longer are we satisfied by what we have and it is the human tendency to always aspire for more. This has no end, and is precisely the reason for the thriving consumerist culture.

Food, shelter and clothing form the basic necessities of a man, categorized in the bottom level of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. The basic human requirement is to have clothes to protect the body from the extreme weather. However today, it’s more of a fashion statement. One aspires to have clothes as per the latest fashion, which gets outdated with each season. Wardrobes are filled with latest designer clothing, only to be dumped in the next season, to make space for the latest trends. It’s an irony, that in-spite of so much of cloth production; so many people in the world still don’t have anything to cover their naked bodies. The advances in technology has further proliferated the increasing wants of consumers. Such is the advent that latest gadgets and gizmos, which were being introduced in the market couple of years back, are getting obsolete. The shelf life of these products is decreasing with each passing day. Maybe this is one of the ways of being in the business, by introducing gadgets with fancier features.

But one needs to stop here and ponder, is this what is really needed? For instance, televisions provide a great source of entertainment. With technological advances, LCD televisions are replacing the Cathode Ray Tube models. These are further being replaced by the LED TV’s. Though not a basic necessity, but this need is being replaced by want, and marketers are finding innovative ways to tap these latent needs of the consumers. This is also complemented by the increasing purchasing power, but then there would be no end to this madness. Some other technology will further replace this, and the process is endless. What one fails to realize is the ecological consequences of this consumerist culture which is unsustainable at its core.

We need to slow down our rate of consumption. But won’t that mean slowing down the development? After all the more the goods and services are produced, the more the employment, and the more the wealth and thus more the prosperity of the nation. 

Magazine Content Layout

Content layout for the E-cell magazine

1.       Editorial

2.       Cover Story

3.       Entrepreneur of the month

4.       Entrepreneurship venture of the month

5.       Ted Section

6.       Campus musings

7.       Article of the month

8.       Latest from the world of entrepreneurship

Interesting Links

http://www.servicespace.org/

http://nipun.charityfocus.org/

http://www.drjeffcornwall.com/

Simon Sinek: How great leaders inspire action

Cameron Herold: Let's raise kids to be entrepreneurs

Defining an Entrepreneur

Usually, an entrepreneur is defined as a person who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. However, this is only one view. An entrepreneur is much more than that. He is one who has a vision and transform it into reality at any cost and braving all challenges and oddities. Being entrepreneur is not just starting a business of your own, it’s about the experience, the patience, the perseverance, the learning’s when you fail and joy when you succeed. It is very easy to follow someone or an already established system or to walk on a path already trodden. However, it is an entrepreneur who shows the courage to do something new, something creative and something innovative. He can be someone, who starts a new venture, or someone who brings a change in the society.

Gifting: A new approach to Economy

Gift Economy is a novel concept of addressing the various evils of capitalistic economy and addresses various socio-economic problems being faced by the current world.

A probable application of this concept of gift economy could be in the form of an organization, an NGO, primary goal of which is to provide a platform for the gifting. A non-profit organization, it would bring together people from all walks of life and apprise them of various gifting opportunities. It would be a medium wherein people can gift, which can be used by other in need. These gifts needn’t be physical goods but can also be services. For instance, a person who has registered, can donate his unused or used electronic gadgets, clothes etc. Alternatively, a person can gift his dancing skills, music skills, managerial expertise, or anything the person is good at. Today, the desire is there to donate or give to the society, and there are several NGO’s for this as well. For instance, there are toy banks, there are NGO’s which collect and distribute old and used clothes and so on. However, this is limited to the domain in which the organization operates, and the operations are usually localized in nature. These organizations fail to connect the giver and the receiver. Thus we need a medium which connects the giver and the receiver by providing them a common platform.

Moreover, we need to build an organization, which can also further the reuse and recycling of goods. Thus doing a value-add to the good and increasing its shelf life. Very often, a small problem in the working of an electronic gadget, or availability of fancier gizmos forces us to dump these goods into the waste bin. However, with small repairs, these become good enough to be operational for some more time. A person, who can’t afford such a good, would be very happy if he gets to have that product in working condition. A small personal example, I had an old desktop at my home in a good condition, lying unused. With small repair, it was gifted to a sweeper having a meager monthly salary of $100. His joy knew no bounds as he got access to a computer, which was a dream come true for him.

The point to be made is that there is a lot of scope for re-use and recycle of products and goods. Besides, this value addition to the goods has the potential to generate employment opportunities for people as well, and this could be supported by government welfare schemes. Based on a not for profit model, this organization can be run by volunteers, who can gift their time and render their services. Apart from their services, people can also gift their fully functional or part-functional devices. These can be further refurbished by people with suitable skills and then gifted to the needy people. These skilled persons can be the individuals who have the required technical know-how and have volunteered. Additionally, corporates under their CSR initiatives can impart technical know-how to refurbish the goods and add more value to them.

Today, the leaders talk of the need to transfer the technical know-how from the developed nations to the developing ones in order to solve the climate issues. The solution, the vision for an organization that is presented in this paper can very well be a means to achieve that.

Usually, an entrepreneur is defined as a person who undertakes innovations, finance and business acumen in an effort to transform innovations into economic goods. However, this is only one view. An entrepreneur is much more than that. He is one who has a vision and transform it into reality at any cost and braving all challenges and oddities. Being entrepreneur is not just starting a business of your own, its about the experience, the patience, the perseverance, the learning’s when you fail and joy when you succeed. It is very easy to follow someone or an already established system or to walk on a path already trodden. However, it is an entrepreneur who shows the courage to do something new, something creative and something innovative. He can be someone, who starts a new venture, or someone who brings a change in the society.