Our Accumulation Addiction: The Harm of Overconsumption and Rehabilitation Treatments for our Minds and the Environment
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Authors
Gregory, Holly
Issue Date
2023-01-01
Type
research_paper
Language
Keywords
environmental ethics , addiction , desire , harm-reduction , voluntary simplicity , indigenous ethics , eco-feminism , Agricultural and Resource Economics
Psychology
Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Sociology
Alternative Title
Selected Undergraduate Works
Abstract
In the same way an addict rationalizes using their substance, environmental degradation has been framed as an unfortunate side effect of our inevitable progress towards a predetermined future. These tendencies are justified using a constructed narrative built on cultural techniques and global systems of oppression, conditioning our minds to be in a constant state of desire. By framing consumerism as an addiction, this analysis questions the source of our unbridled dysregulated desire, investigates potential harm reduction addiction interventions and applies them on a global scale as a treatment for our consumption craving. This path away from consumption dependency engages the difficulties of living simply, our fear of scarcity, and a critical long-term approach to pleasure in an attempt to imagine a future in which we consciously rehabilitate our relationship with the environment by healing our bodies and minds.