Is our current way of living working?

Utah Landscape. Near Green River, Utah, 2013

I don’t know about you, but the news always gets me to wondering about what might be the next paradigm in the flow of human existence. The current model in vogue around much of the world is what might be termed “democratic consumer capitalism”. Some countries are more democratic than others, some more capitalist than others…some consume more than others. But most fall somewhere along this spectrum.

But, is it really working for the human species? For the short term, perhaps, but for the long term, methinks not. True, it has given rise to the largest middle class we have ever had so far in human history, but at what cost and for how long? What is the ultimate cost to the environment, the cost to biological diversity, the cost to the masses in the lower classes who haven’t “made it” yet. And what about sustainability? How sustainable, over the long term, is our way of living? Can we go on living this way forever? Imagine how many resources would be required to allow everyone on Earth to live like the average American. Imagine how many resources would be required to maintain that lifestyle for 9 billion humans (the UN’s estimate of the human population in 2050–for comparison, it was around 2.9 billion when I was born in 1958).

Part of me wants to simply shrug the old, sore shoulders and say, “Well, Mother Earth will balance things out eventually and have the last laugh as we, perhaps, go extinct in the process. I’ll be dead by then, so why care.” (The combination of global warming, ocean acidification and our propensity to think that humans can exist without the support of the Earth’s plant and animal ecosystems will likely be key ingredients to this rebalancing act. Oh, and if you happen to be a denier of such facts…well, sorry, but science doesn’t need your belief in order to function.)

So, apart from the current “democratic consumer capitalism”, are there any other ways us human beans might live together more successfully, more sustainably, and with a higher happiness index for more people? Maybe. Probably. I’m not smart enough to come up with the answers or I’d have the Nobel Prize by now.

I did run across an interesting idea the other day, though…What if we were to combine the social organization of a tribal way of life with our current level of technology? Would that be possible? Whether you find this idea intriguing or just plain nuts, you might want to check out the theory. Try THIS LINK to go to an interview with Daniel Quinn, author of the philosophical novel Ishmael.

This may or may not be the answer, but at least it might foment more discussion and exploration of the topic of how we humans live.

Food for thought, anyway.