Beyond the economics of more: the place of consumption in ecological economics

The relation between consumption and welfare, generally assumed by orthodox economists, must be re-examined by ecological economists. Present attitudes towards consumption among the latter are often ambiguous, resulting in a modified form of consumerism. Yet questioning the often dubious benefits of consumption is as important for the environmental debate as emphasising its neglected costs. Beyond basic needs satisfaction, it is at most one's consumption level relative to others which counts for welfare, so that benefits from consumption cannot be increased in the aggregate. Thus there is much scope for reducing consumption (and thus, environmental costs) while increasing or maintaining welfare. Identifying those goods the consumption of which adds Little or nothing to welfare, and assessing the effect of reducing their consumption on resource use, natural and human, should be a major concern of an ecological economics aimed at promoting sustainable welfare. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.