S USTAINABILITY EVSS 695 Class 4: Fulfillment P. Brian Fisher

C ONSUMERISM AND A FFLUENCE In the United States, “public squalor,” such as the weakening of the education and healthcare systems, paralleled rising private affluence. John Kenneth Galbraith (1958), The Affluent Society. “Consumer Republic” and “Affluenza”  “mobilization of the post-World War II economy for domestic consumption and has climaxed with the current almost pathological fixation on ever increasing consumption, even at the expense of personal and social well-being—a condition many critics term “affluenza.””

G ENUINE P ROGRESS – M EASURE OF W ELL - BEING

H APPINESS /I NCOME (US)

P ERCEPTIONS OF A FFLUENCE only 20 percent of a sample of 1,767 Americans in households earning over $75,000 considered themselves “affluent.” 85 percent of them worried about money at least occasionally (40 percent worry “all the time”). More than three out of four said they’d need at least a million dollars to con- sider themselves affluent. Conclusion: “This group, the most affluent 24 percent of the richest country in the world, seems still unsatisfied with their wealth.”

“W HAT IS S USTAINABILITY, A NYWAY ” (2003) W ORLDWATCH A RTICLE “Only the prospect of a truly sustainable culture offers the universal possibility of human fulfillment. It is the business-as-usual course that leads inexorably to a sad future of inequity, strife, natural and economic impoverishment, suffering, and cultural decline—a future made all the more bitter by the knowledge of superior choices foregone and forever lost.”

H OW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR LEVEL OF " HAPPINESS "? 93% were “happy” Most respondents were “happy” (47%) with 18% “very happy” National Happiness Survey: 31% “very happy”; our survey “18% “very happy” and 7% “very fulfilled”

H OW WOULD YOU RATE YOUR LEVEL OF " FULFILLMENT " WITH YOUR LIFE ? 85% of respondents were fulfilled Most are “modestly fulfilled” (39%) and 78% were Modestly Fulfilled or Fulfilled Less fulfillment than “happiness”

P LEASE RANK THE TOP 3 SOURCES OF YOUR FULFILLMENT :

H OW MUCH DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING : I FIND FULFILLMENT THROUGH MEANINGFUL ACTIVITIES. #AnswerResponse% 1Strongly Disagree21% 2Disagree21% 3Neither Agree nor Disagree1610% 4Agree8051% 5Strongly Agree5636% Total156100%

H OW MUCH DO YOU ESTIMATE THAT YOU SPEND MONTHLY ON GOODS THAT ARE BEYOND SURVIVAL BASIC NEEDS ( FOOD,... #AnswerResponse% 1011% 25-10%3019% %5635% %4227% %2818% 6100%+11% Total158100% Less than 1% believe they don’t overconsume 62% believe they consume more than basic needs by 10-50% 45% believe they consume more than needs by %

I FEEL THAT I WOULD BE MORE FULFILLED BY CONSUMING : #AnswerResponse% 1MORE128% 2LESS5434% 3NEITHER9258% Total158100% Only 8% felt that consuming more would yield more fulfillment 34% agree that consuming less yields more fulfillment Why “neither”?

H OW MUCH DO YOU AGREE WITH FOLLOWING : A FFLUENCE LEADS TO GREATER FULFILLMENT #AnswerResponse% 1Strongly Disagree10 6% 2Disagree45 28% 3Neither Agree nor Disagree 4629% 4Agree49 31% 5Strongly Agree8 5% Total158100% * Very even: 34% disagree, 36% agree

H OW MUCH DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING : C ONSUMPTION BEYOND OUR NEEDS HAS LED TO GREATER ECOLOGICAL... #AnswerResponse% 1Strongly Disagree2 1% 2Disagree5 3% 3Neither Agree nor Disagree 1711% 4Agree6944% 5Strongly Agree6441% Total157100% * 85% agree (over)consumption leads to ecological damage, only 4% disagree * 26% of respondents conservative, 44% were moderate politically (either liberal or conservative)

A NSWER ONLY IF ABOVE AGE 30. D URING YOUR LIFETIME, YOU HAVE OBSERVED : #QuestionMuc h Less LessSameMoreMuch More N/A or Don't Know #Mean 1Technology in your life Sense of Community Trust in Government Trust in Corporations Knowing your Neighbors Meaning in life Consumption Environmental harm/damage Belief in American ideals

D URING Y OUR L IFETIME, YOU HAVE OBSERVED : CONCLUSIONS

T HE WORLD WILL BE A BETTER PLACE FOR YOU THAN IT WAS FOR THE PREVIOUS GENERATION ? #AnswerResponse% 1Strongly Disagree96% 2Disagree5032% 3Neither Agree nor Disagree5334% 4Agree4126% 5Strongly Agree43% Total157100% Even split: 38% disagree, 29% agree But, 71% believe this isn’t true or about same

T HE CORE PURPOSE OF C OLLEGE IS : #AnswerResponse% 1Personal Growth/Development 12378% 2Enhance material wealth from degree 2013% 3Build Relationships85% 4To prepare for graduate school74% Total158100%

H OW MUCH DO YOU AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING : "I HAVE FOUND MY LIFE ' S PURPOSE " #AnswerResponse% 1Strongly Disagree117% 2Disagree4327% 3Neither Agree nor Disagree 4629% 4Agree5032% 5Strongly Agree74% Total157100% Even Split: 34% disagree, 36% agree But, vast majority have not found life’s purpose

B IVARIATE R EGRESSION A GE – L IFE ’ S P URPOSE

B IVARIATE R EGRESSION L IFE P URPOSE AND F ULFILLMENT

B IVARIATE R EGRESSION I NCOME – B ASIC N EEDS

B IVARIATE R EGRESSION R ELIGION AND M EANING /P URPOSE

B IVARIATE P OLITICS & T RUST

B IVARIATE G ENERATION – A GE /$

D ATA C ONCLUSIONS Deeper meaning in life is HIGHLY correlated to fulfillment and happiness Money plays a limited role in developing fulfillment; Life purpose is a key for finding fulfillment Mixed results on affluence and fulfillment  FINANCIAL SECURITY is more meaningful than money or shopping Consumption is largely blind – it is NOT tethered to BASIC NEEDS. The key to deeper meaning is RELATIONSHIPS and PURPOSE (could be religious, spiritual, career, etc) Vast majority recognize that consumption beyond basic needs leads to ECOLOGICAL DESTRUCTION Most acknowledge living FAR beyond their basic needs Political Ideology plays a limited role in perception of individual daily life and ecological harm; $$ does not. Religion generates meaning, and could be an important path toward fulfillment and generating ecological awareness Solutions: Declining trust in public institutions, fewer personal relationships, higher consumption patterns, more destruction, fewer buying into American ideals Sustainability??

W AYS TO BE HAPPY FROM $$ Spend on 1. activities that help us grow as a person (guitar lessons), strengthen our connections with others (dinners with colleagues, car trips with friends), and contribute to our communities (catering a fundraiser, donating to the needy) 2. activities and experiences (e.g., rock climbing expeditions, wine tasting family reunions) rather than material possessions 3. many small pleasures (e.g., regular massages, weekly delivery of fresh flowers) rather than on one big-ticket item (like a new car or flat-screen TV); and 4. something that we work extremely hard to get and have to wait for (whether it’s a concert, trip, or gadget) and relish the feeling of hard-won accomplishment and anticipation

S USTAINABILITY = F ULFILLMENT ? Can we sustain something without fulfillment? Happiness? Think about an individual activity? If happier people will facilitate sustainability, then what do we need to generate that? Q is how can we both address sustainability while also generating a more happy community? Final Q: Is this an activity or paradigm for the individual? Community? State? Global?