Details for 3 December launch event for upcoming report on Scotland’s relationship with consumption, and how to change it
CONSUMPTION – the using up of products and services through the purchasing power of citizens – has become such a fundamental part of modern life, shaping not just our economy but our society, culture, environment and even pyschology. Yet it is rarely discussed in policy terms, wrongly assumed to be an immutable part of the way we live. If any change is to come, the argument goes, it will only be from the personal choices and behavioural patterns of individuals.
In reality, excessive debt-fuelled hyper-consumption that we see in the UK today has been distinctly shaped by our political choices over the past 30 years – the shift towards a finance-centred economy reliant on low-pay, wealth-extracting industries has pre-figured the Primark society. It therefore follows that if political choices got us into this situation, political choices can lead the way in getting us out of it.
In a new report by Common Weal, the University of Glasgow and Heriot Watt University, Dr Iain Black, Professor Deirdre Shaw and Dr Katherine Trebeck look at Scotland’s relationship with consumption.
The authors argue that the shift to a hyperconsumerist society has been accompanied by the rise of the narrative of ‘I’ , where individual ‘freedom’ has overtaken collective experience and responsibility. They look at how government could support a shift from ‘I’ to ‘We’, based on the widespread evidence that our collective needs are still what really matters most us.
The launch of the report, From ‘I’ to ‘We’: Changing the narrative in Scotland’s relationship with consumption, will take place on Thursday 3 December at the Old Hairdressers, 27 Renfield Lane, in Glasgow, 6-8pm. The launch will be a chance to meet and discuss the report’s ideas with the authors.
The launch event is part of Glasgow’s ‘Only Way is Ethics’ festival , which runs from 29 November – 6 December.
The event is free but spaces are limited, so to ensure entry (and for more information) register at eventbrite .
The report will be available at allofusfirst.org shortly before the launch event. For more information contact ben@common.scot