What’s Your Consumption Factor?

The average citizen of a wealthy nation consumes at a rate 32 times that of the average citizen of a poor nation, and a rising human population will present major problems if people consume at levels on display in the wealthiest nations. High consumption levels exacerbate environmental devastation, resource shortages, waste and other social problems. Citizens of the poorest countries are fully aware of extreme consumption in other parts of the world, with many resentful or envious. Policymakers from developed nations often promise the poor countries that democracy and free-market economies will deliver the kind of jobs, cars, conveniences and prosperity now enjoyed by only one out of every six people on the planet. “This promise is impossible, a cruel hoax,” writes Jared Diamond in an opinion essay for the New York Times. Diamond argues that reducing consumption could actually improve living standards worldwide. – YaleGlobal