Economics And Ethical Concerns For The Environment In Consumer Choices
Economics And Ethical Concerns For The Environment In Consumer Choices
Abstract
This chapter examines green consumerism and its implications for human welfare and the environment. The analysis begins with a simple model of rational choice to demonstrate that economics can yield insights into consumption that are not as simplistic as those built into many conventional model. The standard model of rational choice, and its expansion to take into consideration non-welfarist concerns for the environment, yields an optimistic view of green consumerism and its potential to deliver more sustainable consumption patterns. In essence, it contributes an overly optimistic understanding, according to which sensitizing consumers to environmental values and concerns, brings about a change of values to change the behavior. Models that recognize the interdependence of consumer choices substantiate the promise of green consumerism and strongly remind the fragility of the promise of green consumerism. These models also demonstrate that it may be costly for consumers to change their consumption patterns may be costly. The public policy may expand opportunity sets and alter the relative costs and benefits of alternatives. The worrying aspect of green consumerism is its potential transformation into an elitist alternative lifestyle.
Chapter One
Introduction
1.1 Background of the Study
Promoting sustainable consumption and production are important aspects of sustainable development, which depends on achieving long-term economic growth that is consistent with environmental and social needs. Most government policies in this area focus on stemming the environmental impacts of unsustainable industrial production practices, primarily through regulations and taxes. Promoting sustainable consumption is equally important to limit negative environmental and social externalities as well as to provide markets for sustainable products. In this study, sustainable refers to both the environmental (pollution, waste, resource use) and social (health, welfare) characteristics of products. It focuses on consumption by households and governments. It discusses government tools and instruments (e.g. standards, taxes, subsidies, communications campaigns, education) put in place to encourage sustainable consumption. It also discusses approaches for protecting consumers from misleading information on sustainability in areas such as labelling, advertising and corporate reporting. The trend towards considering the social dimensions of sustainable consumption has led to more attention to how products are produced. Consumers are increasingly concerned with not only the polluting or health effects of the consumption of products, but also the impacts which that consumption may have on the factors of production, including workers and resources. As a result, sustainable consumption policies and initiatives are broadening to take into account the effects of processes as well as products and the provision of services as well as goods.Green consumerism is an interesting and important object of analysis for several reasons. First, consumer choices have a significant effect on the environment and, therefore, also a potential to alleviate environmental problems. Secondly, green consumerism and lifestyles (see e.g. Elgin, 1993) are becoming fashionable and the belief in their ability to improve environmental outcomes is increasingly widely shared. Finally, attention in both scholarship and international policy arenas is moving toward consumption. It is increasingly felt that the potential of regulation of production is either not sufficient to remedy environmental problems or is already largely exhausted (see e.g. Cogoy, 1999; Crocker and Linden, 1998; Georg, 1999; Jackson and Marks, 1999; OECD, 1997a, 1997b, 1998; Røpke, 1999). Economics is not by any means an obvious candidate for other social scientists to gain deeper understanding of consumer behaviour. After all, economic theorising in its usual form is based on narrow and counterfactual assumptions concerning human behaviour, which render consumption as an object of analysis devoid of symbolic and social dimensions. In essence, the traditional economic approach has viewed consumption as a string of rational choices that individuals make to maximise their personal welfare without regard to the consequences of their choices for other humans and non-humans and without regard to the choic- 2 es made by others and their consequences. Even economists themselves have sometimes considered the theory of consumer choice as an area of research, which has not developed essentially since the mid-20th century (reference, 19xx). Yet some relatively recent developments in economics promise to make it more amenable and fruitful for the kinds of inquiries into consumption that interest other social scientists. These developments include the recent revival of the interest in the study of interdependent consumer choices, originally pioneered by Thorstein Veblen at the turn of the 20th century (see e.g. Corneo and Jeanne 1997; Frank 1985, 1991; Veblen 1899). The role of consumption as the cultural expression of capitalism is somewhat ambiguous in contemporary critiques of capitalism (cf. Forna¨s, 2013; ZickVarul, 2013). On the one hand—the hand of classic critical theory—consumption desires represent the false needs the system produces to chain us to endless processes of self-recreation and actualization through consumption. In this line of argument, consumer desire loses sight of its real needs. Consumer desire is productive but also problematic, precisely because what it demands is always irreducible to need. As Zˇizˇek (1993: 212) puts it, ‘‘if we subtract need from demand, we get desire.’’ Thus, from a critical theory perspective, capitalism’s destructiveness is sustained by creating an excess of demand that is never satisfied by the system, despite expanding production capacity and efficiencies. On the other hand, consumerism represents—even in its excesses—the potential to feel free, to make autonomous choices, to find a modicum of hedonistic enjoyment in what might be an otherwise empty existence, and perhaps even to further socialist human development (Laermans, 1993; Soper et al., 2008; ZickVarul, 2013). What both critiques share, however, is a realization that in the final analysis, capitalist consumer culture must always be excessive. That is to say that capitalism and relentless economic growth depend on the (re)production of consumption levels that always represent less than what consumers demand, and this excessive consumption is problematic to the very capitalist system it is a product of. Consider how excessive consumption has a leading role in bringing us to the brink of ecological catastrophe (see Chomsky, 1999; Klein, 2014; Pearce, 2009). It is with these paradoxical implications in mind that Marcuse stated that the consumer, whose surplus of desire always exceeds the capacity of the system to deliver, might become capitalism’s gravedigger (Marcuse, 1972). From this perspective, we can see that the relationship between capitalism and consumption is not as straightforward as it appears. As Marcuse’s statement suggests, capitalist consumption always contains—even in its most excessive and immanent expression—the potential for its own negation. The suspicion that consumption can be the problem as much as the solution to capitalism’s many ills and evils has been the driving force behind a relatively small but growing segment of consumers who integrate notions of ethics, social justice, and environmental sustainability into their consumption practices. This, of course, has brought interest from a group of business scholars interested in the question of ethical consumption (e.g. Devinney et al., 2010; Szmigin et al., 2009; Thompson and Coskuner-Balli, 2007). While diverse in focus and approach, this body of research collectively asks how consumers—or more precisely, how everyday consumption practices—might be enlisted for broader projects of social change (e.g. Harrison et al., 2005; Jones, 2012; Micheletti and McFarland, 2011; Stolle and Micheletti, 2013, for a critical perspective, see e.g. Chatzidakis et al., 2012; Littler, 2008; Sassatelli, 2006).Another area of research in the interstices of economics and philosophy has made space for non-welfarist behavioral motivations and examined their implications for economic analysis (see e.g. Sen 1977, 1979; Anderson 1993, Kavka, 1991, 1993). Finally, the ever more popular game theory provides a heuristic framework for integrating these new trends in economics.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Consideration of the conditions under which ethical consumption is possible has now moved to center stage in academic and policy debates accompanied by the growing realization that significant environmental and social challenges—such as climate change and worker exploitation—are directly related to human consumption activities (Hargreaves, 2011; Swim, 2009). This move has illuminated one of the most vexing and perplexing aspects of ethical consumerism: while a significant percentage of consumers state that they intend to shop in line with ethical considerations following through on these intentions is rare (Auger and Devinney, 2007; Belk et al., 2005; Szmigin et al., 2009). It is in view of the above that the researcher decide to investigate the economic and ethical concerns for the environment in consumers choice.
1.3 Objective of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine the ethical concern for the environment in consumers choice; to aid the completion of the study the researcher intends to achieve the following specific objective;
- To investigate the effect consumers choice on the safety of the environment
- To ascertain influence of ethical concern for the environment on the choice of consumers
- To examine the relationship between consumers choice and environmental protection
- To proffer suggested solutions to the identified problems
1.4 Research Hypotheses
To aid the completion of the study, the following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher;
- H0: Consumer’s choice does not have any effect on the safety of the environment
H1: Consumer’s choice does have an effect on the safety of the environment - H02: There is no significant relationship between consumers choice and environmental protection
H2: There is a significant relationship between consumers choice and environmental protection
1.5 Significance of the Study
It is believed that at the completion of the study the findings will be of benefit to the government in formulating policies that will curb the ever increasing consumer groups based on better understanding of social and economic behavior. Mixes of instruments tend to be more effective in promoting sustainable consumption in certain product groups. The complexity and array of government tools and initiatives directed at sustainable consumption underline the need for more integrated programs as well as institutionalization of sustainable consumption in sustainable development strategies.
1.6 Scope and Limitations of the Study
The scope of the study covers economics and ethical concern for the environment in consumer’s choice. In the cause of the study, there were some factors which limited the scope of the study;
(a) Availability of Research Material:
The research material available to the researcher is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.
(b) Time:
The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
(c) Finance:
The finance available for the research work does not allow for wider coverage as resources are very limited as the researcher has other academic bills to cover
1.7 Operational Definition of Terms
Ethical concern
A problem or situation that requires a person or organization to choose between alternatives that must be evaluated as right (ethical)
Environment
Environment is everything that is around us. It can be living or nonliving things. It includes physical, chemical and other natural forces. Living things live in their environment.
Consumer’s choice
Consumer choice is the branch of microeconomics that relates preferences to consumption expenditures and to consumer demand curves
1.8 Organization of the Study
This research work is organized in five chapters, for easy understanding, as follows
- Chapter one is concern with the introduction, which consist of the (overview, of the study), historical background, statement of problem, objectives of the study, research hypotheses, significance of the study, scope and limitation of the study, definition of terms and historical background of the study.
- Chapter two highlights the theoretical framework on which the study is based, thus the review of related literature.
- Chapter three deals on the research design and methodology adopted in the study.
- Chapter four concentrate on the data collection and analysis and presentation of finding.
- Chapter five gives summary, conclusion, and recommendations made of the study
Chapter Five
Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation
5.1 Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to investigate the economics and ethical concern for the environmental consumer’s choice.
In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of ethical concern for environmental consumer’s choice.
5.2 Summary
Given the hopelessness of enacting real change through the same system that is the cause for ethical transgressions and misery in the first place, is the purest ethical stance not that of a consumer refusing to consume ethically? Is the brutally self-interested and singularly desiring consumer that turns an instrument of oppression and destruction—mass consumption—against itself by demanding ever more and pushing the system to the breaking point (Critchley, 2007; Marcuse, 1972) not the true resistance fighter against contemporary neoliberal capitalism and all its excesses? This consumer rejects the gap as a source of ongoing guilt (Chatzidakis, 2015) and turns it into a concrete articulation of her emancipation from the superego’s injunction to do the impossible: to enjoy, provide, realize yourself, be authentic but also recycle, protect workers in China, prevent illegal arms trading, end the killing of animals, and so on, all in order to save capitalism from digging its own grave. What makes this reification of the ethical consumption gap so insidious and futile is that the gap works precisely because it can never be bridged. As soon as it is bridged, a new gap has to materialize, as it is the excess of consumer desire that is the reason for capitalism to reproduce itself in the first place (Baudrillard, 1981; Deleuze and Guattari, 1977). The gap reminds the individual of the endless questioning of her intentions and decisions. Is this product truly sustainable? Should I be supporting women workers in Vietnam with my purchases? What if this company is lying about its treatment of animals? Drawing on Lacan, Zˇizˇek calls this consumer subject a hysterical subject. The hysterical subject always questions if she/he is doing the right thing; whether the superego, or the Big Other, is pleased. Burdened with a constant feeling of guilt for not going all the way ethically with his purchases the hysterical consumer internalizes the gap between his desires and his behavior as a personal failing. Thus, we find that the interpolative call of ethical marketing and consumerism produces a subject of ideology that further sustains, rather than negating, the destructive machinery of global capitalism.
5.3 Conclusion
This study examined consumerism and its implications for human welfare and the environment. The analysis was based on a simple model of rational choice, which was gradually expanded in order to take into consideration that some of our choices are not informed exclusively by our concerns for our personal welfare, and that sometimes our consumer choices are interdependent with those of others. The aim was in part to demonstrate that economics can also yield other than simplistic insights concerning consumption. The standard model of rational choice and its expansion that takes into consideration non-welfarist concerns for the environment yield a somewhat optimistic view of green consumerism and its potential to transform our consumption patterns into a more sustainable direction. In essence, they contribute to an over-optimistic understanding according to which sensitizing the consumers to environmental values and concerns or bringing about a change of values otherwise would be enough to change their behavior. The models that recognize the interdependence of consumer choices substantiate the promise of green consumerism perhaps even more powerfully: we could fundamentally transform our consumer choices if only all of us shared non-welfarist concerns for the environment.
5.4 Recommendation
Haven completed the study, the researcher recommend that due to the growing demands imposed on companies by consumers not only reflect the satisfaction of their personal needs and wants, but also increasingly address general needs of the society. Under such circumstances, ethical issues of business and marketing are becoming more significant. However, the subject of research is expanding to the consumers, that is, ethical attributes of their behaviour.
More research should be made to support Present discoveries which hasidentified different models of ethical consumer behaviour, as well as the incongruity of their attitudes and intentions on the one hand, and their behaviour on the other. The future brings challenges associated with improving the understanding of causes of the behavioural gap and, above all, preventing it from occurring, or reducing it substantially.
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