Maurie Cohen: Looking past individualism to seeing consumerism through a systemic lens
Maurie Cohen is a Professor of Sustainability Studies at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and author of the book, The Future of Consumer Society: Prospects for Sustainability in the New Economy. He's also the Editor of the journal, Sustainability: Science, Practice, and Policy, and co-founder of the Future Earth Knowledge-Action Network on Systems of Sustainable Consumption and Production.
In this podcast episode, Maurie sheds light on what we can learn from viewing conscious consumerism, not through an individualistic lens, but a more collective one; the limitations and cautions against seeing localization as our path forward; and more.
To start, get a glimpse below into the conversation between Maurie and Green Dreamer Podcast's host, Kamea Chayne.
Musical feature: Trust The Sun by Fight for You by Raye Zaragoza
“We live in a society that is heavily oriented towards individualism. We tend to interpret what are in fact social problems as problems of individual dysfunction.”
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This is a conversation on Green Dreamer with Kamea Chayne, a podcast and multimedia journal illuminating our paths towards ecological regeneration, intersectional sustainability, and true abundance and wellness for all. This preview has been edited for clarity. Subscribe to Green Dreamer Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or any podcast app, and support Green Dreamer on Patreon so we can keep the show going and accessible to a wider audience!
On the shortcomings of individualized ‘sustainable consumerism’:
"Green consumerism has come to de-operationalize, especially in the United States, as an overly-individualized approach. There's a tendency for us to retreat from the politics of consumption and to think that if we eat a little bit differently, drive our cars a little bit less, acquire an electric vehicle, that through our individual behavior changes that this will roll up together into a process of meaningful change.
I think the evidence suggests that's not likely to lead to the kind of outcomes that we anticipate. We have to begin to recognize that consumer society, as it exists today (or at least as it existed pre-COVID pandemic), is an engineered system that has been specifically created in order to achieve particular outcomes that are beneficial to particular people and organizations.”
On how individual outcomes are shaped by larger systems:
"We live in a society that is heavily oriented towards individualism. We tend to interpret what are in fact social problems as problems of individual dysfunction."
Final words of wisdom:
"The future is not something that sits out there on the horizon that we march towards. The future is something that we all co-create. All of us have a role to play in the design and creation of artful, beneficial futures that offer the prospect for good, healthful, sustainable, and equitable living.
We shouldn't put the responsibility for that into the hands of corporate officials and political leaders. Each of us is empowered to play a role in that process of future envisioning and future realization."
