Economist W. Stanley Jevons first used the “rebound effect” or Jevon’s Paradox, in 1865, in his essay The Coal Question. The term was used to describe the use of coal and improvements in efficiency of steam engines at the time. Jevons stated, “It is a confusion of ideas to suppose that economical use of fuel is equivalent to diminished consumption.” He went on to explain that in fact, the very opposite is true in reality. During the 1980’s Jevons idea resurfaced in the work of two new economists, Daniel Khazzom and Leonard Brookes. They looked at the improvements in technology and their subsequent affect on the total energy use of a society. Their argument was that new and improved technology leads to an increase in overall energy consumption.
This Paradox can be seen in virtually anything. Costco and Sam’s Club, in which exclusive membership is required and so called “discounted” items can be purchased, displays this paradox. There seems to be a benefit but in reality since these stores generally only offer sales in bulk, that is large quantities, you actually end up spending more and acquiring more than you need. Another obscure example could be seen in alcohol consumption and tolerance. The more and more you drink alcohol the higher your tolerance becomes, thus the more alcohol you require to get “drunk”, which is hazardous to your health and results in greater money (resource) spent on alcohol and intensifies all of the negative effects of alcohol. This is a lose-lose situation.
When thinking about consumer spending I could not help but think of Annie Leonard’s video on “Stuff”. There is so much emphasis on consumer spending because our country’s economy is reliant on this “materials economy”. In our system is you do not buy things you do not matter. The importance of shopping and consuming in this country can easily be seen in times of tragedy like 9/11, when President Bush told us to SHOP. Our forefathers created this emphasis on consumption; President Eisenhower said that the main concern of our country should be to produce more consumer goods. Planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence conform our minds to the ideas of this consumer economy. Many consumer products are planned to break, many even studied to figure out at what time is most appropriate and will lead the consumer to repurchase a product. If products do not break than T.V. commercials and media will encourage social reform and change to the “norms”, so that Jacket with the hood is no longer fashionable and now Jackets with high collars are, forcing consumers to buy new Jackets when their old ones are in perfect condition. If consumers stopped spending so much many companies would lose money and possibly go out of business, which in turn would result in the loss of many jobs and increase unemployment.
Adam Curtis explained his theory of the sea of selves in a BBC documentary named Century of the Self. Curtis meant to detail the progression of human in societies like America to slowly but surely become more and more selfish. We are mostly concerned about ourselves and if not ourselves, our immediate families. We do not feel obligated to feel concern for others, may it be neighbors or fellow countrymen, or even our planet for that matter.
F.G. Bailey, an anthropologist, focused his studies on humans and power and collectivities. He used the terms civic and divine to explain two of the five terms used to describe the human persona. Both social aspects, the Civic refers to morality and what is right, just, and appropriate while the divine alludes to being part of something greater than oneself, a greater picture. Humanity lacks these two aspects of persona more than the rest. Many of us in the sea of selves do not see the greater picture of our existence and only conform to morals and regulations put before us by our leaders, without questioning them.
I liked this article and I think Jeff Dardozzi has unearthed a subject of humanity that is universal and will have to be dealt with universally. People across the globe are slowly learning how efficiency leads to greater losses and this can and will be seen in oil consumption. Once again as always the solution to this Paradox and many other problems that plague our current society is change, but this change must be universal and done by many on the whole. This is why, in my opinion, this assignment was assigned for Veteran’s Day because soldiers are very aware of the “divine” and its benefits and essentiality. They come together as one and work towards common goals and put no man above another. We as the human race can use them as a model for what can be done with a common mind and a sense of being something greater than ourselves. This idea of divinity coupled with true sense of civic, for earth, made by collective minds and not pushed upon us by government, will save us from this paradox.
Reference:
1) The Spector of Jevons' Paradox by Jeff Dardozzi
2) The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard- www.storyofstuff.com
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