Why we need to do something about ever-increasing consumption - Yorkshire Post Letters

Whilst important, the debate over energy transitions ignores our addiction to infinite growth. Clean energy is necessary, but we must question the underlying engine demanding ever-increasing consumption.

As we face the reality of a warming planet, we also need a ‘Doughnut Economy’, one that stays within planetary boundaries. This will be the greatest cultural challenge of the next generation.

A society less beholden to material accumulation needs to fundamentally change how we incentivise talent and effort. We must strive for equality, not Porsches and Seychelles holidays.

This isn't just a problem with ‘naked capitalism’; traditional socialism is equally obsessed with increasing production. In fact, the last time we lived without expected year-on-year growth was likely the Middle Ages. Transitioning to a sustainable and circular economy will be a vital shift in the human story.

The hurdle is honesty. It is incredibly difficult for the ‘baby boomer’ generation, who benefited most from the era of cheap credit and high growth, to tell younger generations or the working poor that ‘more stuff’ is no longer the goal.

How do we convey a message of ‘enough’ to an unequal society where many feel disadvantaged by design? We can’t simply tell people to stop aspiring; society must redefine what a ‘better life’ looks like.

This isn't about austerity; it’s about decoupling well-being from consumption. If we don’t find a way to make a post-growth world appealing to those currently struggling to pay rent, we’ll fail. We need a new social contract that prioritises nature, free public transport, health and time for family and community rather than private excess and it’s time to measure progress by how much we sustain.