wfn.org | Baha'i news: Alternatives to consumer culture focus of new Baha'i document

[Sally Weeks <sweeks@bwc.org>]

>Baha'i World News Service
>http://news.bahai.org
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Alternatives to consumer culture focus of new Baha'i document

UNITED NATIONS, 5 May (BWNS) - A new statement challenging the common assum 
ption that human beings are slaves to self-interest and consumerism has bee n 
issued by the Baha'i International Community.

A more profound look at human nature would reveal the ability to respond to  a 
higher calling, suggests the document - issued this week for the United  
Nations Commission on Sustainable Development as it began its annual two-we ek 
session.

"The culture of consumerism ... has tended to reduce human beings to compet 
itive, insatiable consumers of goods and to objects of manipulation by the  
market," it says.

In fact, "the human experience is essentially spiritual in nature: it is ro 
oted in the inner reality - or what some call the 'soul' - that we all shar e 
in common," it states.

The document, titled "Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Cult ure 
of Consumerism," challenges the view that there is an intractable confl ict 
between what people want - which supposedly is to consume more - and wh at 
humanity needs.

"Much of economic and psychological theory depicts human beings as slaves t o 
self-interest," it says. "The faculties needed to construct a more just a nd 
sustainable social order - moderation, justice, love, reason, sacrifice  and 
service to the common good - have too often been dismissed as naive ide als. 
Yet, it is these and related qualities that must be harnessed. ..."

Peter Adriance, a member of the Baha'i International Community's delegation  to 
the Commission, said the statement is a contribution to a dialogue on t he 
development of a 10-year framework to encourage new programs that advanc e 
sustainable consumption and production.

"The document deals with the issue of consumerism by reflecting on the ques 
tion of what is human nature," he said. "We must look at who we are and wha t 
our purpose in life is.

"The transition to sustainable consumption and production is one of the gre at 
challenges of our times, and to achieve it will require a transformation  in 
both thought and action. The cultural forces at play are powerful and d emand 
re-examination if we are to move forward," he said.

The statement can be read at http://bic.org/statements-and-reports/bic-stat 
ements/10-0503.htm.

As a further contribution to the work this year of the Commission on Sustai 
nable Development, the Baha'i International Community will cosponsor a pane l 
discussion on 10 May on the same topic as the statement.

Panelists will include Tim Jackson of the United Kingdom's Sustainable Deve 
lopment Commission; Victoria Thoresen of the Norwegian Partnership for Educ 
ation and Research about Responsible Living; Jeff Barber of the US-based In 
ternational Coalition on Sustainable Production and Consumption; and Luis F 
lores Mimica of Consumers International, based in Chile.

The discussion will be moderated by Duncan Hanks of the Canadian Baha'i Int 
ernational Development Agency. It is cosponsored by UNESCO and the Permanen t 
Mission of Sweden to the United Nations.

>To read the story online, go to:
>http://news.bahai.org/story/770

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