I've always thought a lot about growth. Personal growth that is. But that's not what comes to mind when the Prime Minister and Treasurer talk about "jobs and growth", ad nauseam. There's nothing generic about their use of the term. They want us to buy more and more stuff.
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Without saying so they are telling us that consumerism is good for us, even essential. They are singing in unison.
And we act as if it is. We are prone to wanting the latest version, the upgrade. Phone companies continually offer new and intimate devices (with big price tags) that are often little better than the ones they have replaced.
Here's a thought. How about growth in giving things away; a sharing economy that does not involve excess and exploitation? A growth in compassion, a growth in care, a growth in kindness. How about growth in common sense and the political partnerships needed to grow renewable energy? With only days left in the campaign there's no sign that's what they mean.
But have you noticed a rise in the hand-made; the proliferation of craft and hand-made markets? It's in part of a rejection of the idea that "more stuff is better".
It's also a response to the loss of individuality that's come with the mass media and increasingly global politics. Small-scale personal projects are a way of subverting mass consumption and mass production.
We've long felt pressured to frame our lives with products. We are often looking beyond the products to the ideas behind them. It might be because we are hollowed out spiritually. The less right we feel, the more we buy things we think will make us right. Corporations know this and promise values but deliver products. Treasurers tell us we'll be better off if we "spend, spend, spend", because it's good for us.
The alternative is "voluntary radical simplicity" – a so-called middle way between over and under consumption. University of Melbourne researcher Dr Samuel Alexander describes it as the pursuit of "a sufficient standard of living" through non-material sources of well-being. As an example, he suggests exchanging some of our things for more free time.
He is promoting the idea of eco-villages that are "not escapist, but spaces to provoke thought and expand our ecological imaginations". He says we shouldn't forget the little things that reduce our footprint – walking to the shops, recycling, turning off the lights. But adds that we need creative and radical thinking that goes beyond simply giving up stuff. It's not a new idea. Alexander has harvested his ideas from figures such as Buddha, Henry Thoreau and Jesus, who told his followers "where your treasure is, that is where your heart is also" (Prophets are like stones in our shoe, annoying but they are a potential gift).
But we have become so wedded to consumption that untangling ourselves is hard. Think back to the enthusiasm in Canberra for the opening of Ikea.
The argument for easing back on acquisitions exists independently of arguments about the environment and climate change. It's about living with ourselves and experiencing the profound rather than grasping at substitutes for it. It would be important at any time, but it's especially worth considering in the context of an election.
Toni Hassan is a Canberra writer and Adjunct Research Fellow with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture, Charles Sturt University.
Twitter: @ToniHassan
