Brandishing the Eye of the Needle:

The Deflation of our Materialist Culture and

The Quest for an Anti-Consumption Movement in Canada

Political Science Undergraduate Honours Thesis

Department of Political Science, University of Victoria

Prepared By: Graham Erion Advisor: Dr. Jeremy Wilson

Second Reader: Dr. Colin Bennett

Submitted: April 12, 2002

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Table of Contents

Introduction 3 Chapter One: History of Anti-Consumption 6 1.1 Limits to Growth 7 1.2 Anti-Consumption Comes to Canada: The Conserver Society 8 1.3 Sustainable Development Champions Anti-Consumption 12 1.4 Origins of Anti-Consumption Groups 13 Chapter Two: Overview of Anti-Consumption 18 2.1 The Environmental Crisis is Caused By Consumption 18 2.2 Over-consumption Pollutes Our Mental Environment 19 2.3 Anti-consumer’s Critique of Sustainable Development 20 2.4 Embrace a Change in Values 21 2.5 A Value Shift Will Result in Greater Joy in Life 22

Chapter Three: Social Movement Analysis 25 3.1 A Sketch of a Future Anti-Consumption Movement 25 3.2 Trigger Events 27 3.3 Framing the Movement 30 3.4 Resources 32 3.5 Collective Action Tactics 36 3.6 Media Coverage 39 3.7 Relations with Other Social Movements 43 3.8 Conclusion 47

Conclusion 48

Works Cited 50

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Introduction Materialist accumulation and increasing resource consumption provide the basic framework

of modern capitalist society. In other words, these activities lead to business profits, which

are the most crucial ingredient in our society since all jobs, social services, infrastructure,

and modern luxuries are derived from them. Yet it is also becoming apparent that there

exists a darker side to our consumption habits. The environment is widely recognized to be

in a state of crisis. This is due in no small part to Canada’s abysmal record on resource

consumption, abuse of fossil fuels, and other forms of consumption-led pollution.1

Furthermore, studies have indicated that people now have longer workweeks, higher rates of

depression, and feel less happy than their parents did a generation ago – even though they

currently own more material possessions.2 One explanation for this might be the effect of

the mass media and the 12 billion display ads, 3 million radio commercials, and 200 000

television commercials forced into the collective unconscious of North America every day.3

A current example of our consumption problem can be seen in the urging of our politicians

to “go out and shop” following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. This association of

patriotism with shopping took place in the context of Americans having the highest levels of

consumer debt in history, with Canada not far behind.4

But there is an alternative. It is the idea of anti-consumption: the rejection of the

behaviour and values behind society’s harmful materialist accumulation. Supporting this

idea involves buying and using fewer resources, taking a more efficient approach to

resources that have to be consumed, and abandoning the need for satisfaction in possessions.

The motivation behind this idea can be that it increases our chances for a healthy and

sustainable environment. It can also involve opportunities for personal satisfaction and

liberating ourselves from the grip of materialism and living fuller, more joyous lives.

There is currently no cohesive and broad-based social movement devoted to the idea

of anti-consumption in Canada. However, there are people and groups in this country that

1 See the University of Victoria Eco-Research Chair’s Canada vs. the OECD: An Environmental Comparison available online from: www.environmentalindicators.com 2 The Center for the New American Dream www.newdream.org/thedream 3 Kalle Lasn. Culture Jam (New York: Harper Collins, 1999) Quill edition 2000, 19 (emphasis in original) 4 The Center for the New American Dream website

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advocate an alternative to our consuming lifestyle. To grasp the difference between these

groups and a social movement it is necessary to define exactly what a social movement is.

Sidney Tarrow defines this often ambiguous concept as, “Sequences of contentious politics

that are based on underlying social networks and resonant collective action frames, and

which develop the capacity to maintain sustained challenges against powerful opponents.”5

Anti-consumption groups are not a social movement comparable to feminism or

environmentalism because they lack broad social networks capable of sustaining challenges

against powerful opponents. It is the purpose of this thesis to investigate anti-consumption

groups to discover the barriers to the conditions under which an anti-consumption social

movement can develop in Canada. In the investigation of these groups their literature has

been reviewed and key persons in them have been interviewed. Let us now briefly consider

who these anti-consumption groups are.

The Deep Ecology movement sees the root cause of our environmental crisis as

society being out of touch with nature. This distance we have created between nature and

ourselves allows us to consume and behave in ways that threaten the Earth without thinking

that it threatens us. To regain an identity with nature we have to engage in a process of deep

questioning around our materialist values and lifestyles. Norwegian philosopher Arne

Naess founded this movement in 1973 and we will consider his most popular work,

Lifestyle, Community, and Ecology. In addition, former University of Victoria professor

Alan Drengson is arguable Canada’s most public supporter of Deep Ecology. His views on

the subject will be considered along with his role in local organizations committed to Deep

Ecology.

The problem of consumption is also conceptualized through connecting it to the

stress and anxiety caused from overworking at our jobs, which we do to maintain our

consumption habits. Thus, there is a push for Work Time Reduction (WTR) that believes

environmental problems can be addressed by working less and living more. In Canada,

support for this idea evolved into a Toronto-based organization, 32 Hours. This organization

works with groups in the community to promote a shorter workweek. Although it has since

5 Sidney Tarrow. Power In Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics 2nd edition (New York:

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lost its funding and disbanded, 32 Hours member Anders Hayden believes there is still great

potential of WTR, as was revealed in an interview and his book Sharing the Work, Sparing

the Planet.

Lastly, Canada’s most organized anti-consumption lobby is the mental environment

movement. This movement believes that the media and corporations’ consumption

messages in advertising are dangerous for our mental health. To address this, the

Vancouver-based Adbusters Media Foundation engages in ‘culture jamming.’ Activities

included under this rubric are mocking and subverting advertising messages, as well as other

campaigns to steer people away from their consumption habits. Adbusters publishes a

bimonthly magazine and its founder, Kalle Lasn, has also published a handbook for

cleansing one’s mental environment entitled, Culture Jam.

The results of this inquiry into anti-consumption groups will be organized into three

chapters. Chapter One details the history of the idea of anti-consumption and the formation

of the current anti-consumption groups. During the 1970s, a debate was taking place on the

desirability of our consumption-led growth and the factors that eventually muted this debate

are barriers that are still in place today. Chapter Two addresses the challenge of a collective

identity for an anti-consumption movement by formulating a set of shared principles

between the different groups. Chapter Three utilizes a social movement analysis to explore

the activities and tactics of the groups. This will help to show the strengths of the groups

and areas that need to be addressed in order to expand the popular base of support for anti-

consumption and challenge its opponents. By articulating the obstacles in place, a crucial

step will be taken to the formation of an anti-consumption movement in Canada. Although

the path will not be cleared, it will at least be shown.

Cambridge University Press, 1998) 2

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Chapter One: A History of Anti-Consumption

Following Earth Day in 1970 the ecology movement rapidly gained momentum in North

America. Anti-consumption ideas were often involved in this movement’s debates about

pollution control and other environmental issues. Deep Ecology founder Arne Naess

witnessed sizable growth in this movement by the middle of the decade; “In 1975 there was

a firm belief in many industrialized countries that a change in personal lifestyle might be

necessary. It was on the whole quite clear what an ecologically responsible lifestyle would

entail: anti-consumerism in general, with stress on low energy consumption.”6 In Canada

this could also be seen in the growth of environmental groups, such as the Society

Promoting Environmental Conservation (SPEC) in British Columbia, as well as escalating

academic debates. Stanley J. Shapiro of McGill University underlined the importance of

such debates when he stated, “the growth controversy has become the major intellectual

concern of the 1970s.”7 A number of key texts contributed to this debate, including, the

Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth and the Canadian publication, The Conserver Society.8

We will begin our discussion of the barriers to an anti-consumption movement by

looking at these texts and the reaction to them. Although they may have impacted groups

like SPEC, these texts failed to produce an anti-consumption movement in Canada.

Governments remained largely hostile to this idea, favoring further study on it rather than

enacting public policies to address it. The government’s position in this regard is reflective

of society’s hostility to the idea of anti-consumption in general, which is viewed as

threatening. Another barrier that continues to pose a challenge to anti-consumption is the

popularity of sustainable development. This concept increases the legitimacy of

consumption-led growth by downplaying its environmental impact for many people,

including our decision makers. Sustainable development has also divided anti-consumption

from mainstream ecology, its strongest potential ally.

6 Arne Naess. Ecology, community and lifestyle translated and edited by David Rothenberg (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989) 210 7 Stanley J. Shapiro “Canada’s Conserver Society Studies: Their Intellectual and Social Impact” paper presented to the American Marketing Association 1979, p 23 8 Other key texts during the period were Edward Goldsmith’s Blueprint for Survival (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1972) and E.F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful – Economics as if People Mattered (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1973)

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1.1 Limits to Growth The Club of Rome, a group of worldwide renowned scientists, predated the publishing of

The Limits to Growth in 1972 with the “Project for the Predicament of Mankind.” This was

a massive study that created world systems models in order to understand the nature of

exponential growth. Areas that were considered were population, natural resources,

agriculture, industrial production, and pollution. The first of the study’s two conclusions as

seen in The Limits to Growth, was that present exponential growth trends were

unsustainable. Physical limitations to our growth would, it said, be encountered within the

next century. Secondly, it argued that this destiny was not inevitable and the predicted

trends could be altered. Yet averting disaster involves more than just relying on technology.

For example, “the application of technology to apparent problems of resource depletion or

pollution…has no impact on the essential problem, which is exponential growth in a finite

and complex system.”9 Thus the only solution is to halt our growth. Seven policies were put

forth to achieve this under the banner of “Policies for a Global Equilibrium.” These

included measures such as stabilizing the population, reducing resource consumption by

one-fourth, and stabilizing industrial growth by setting investment equal to depreciation.

The international reaction to The Limits to Growth, was described as “spectacular”

in the mass media and scientific community according to a report by the Office of the

Science Advisor.10 The report was commissioned by Environment Canada and was

published in 1975. Its purpose was to consider the implications of the Club of Rome’s study

for Canada. In doing this, the idea of that the limits that constrain our future are physical

was wholly rejected. In the absence of this theory, the report argued that our destiny was

determined by political and social limitations and our ability to respond to problems. The

doubts that we are capable of doing this contradicted Arne Naess’ belief that people were

accepting the idea of a change in lifestyle,

It is simply a statement of fact that man seems incapable of identifying with the kind of global awareness that is necessary to solve the problem…. it would be entirely irrational to expect him to make sacrifices for a future he will never see. It is not

9 Donella H. Meadows, et al. The Limits to Growth 2nd edition (New York: Universe Books, 1974) 145 (emphasis in original) 10 Gil Winstanley. The Limits to Growth: A Review of World Reaction (Ottawa: Office of the Science Advisor, Environment Canada, 1975) 25

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possible to return to the independent societies which remain within environmental limitations and enable each to be aware and work for the common good.11

The report concluded that the Club of Rome’s musing about physical limits to growth were

trivial and should be seen as nothing more than “a way of exercising the human intellect.

Let us not pretend that it can have any real influence on us.”12 Many of these criticisms

remain in place today. It is a common view of people that even if there is a problem of

consumption, we simply cannot do anything about it.13 Yet back in this 1970s, these

criticisms were not enough to stifle the debate generated by The Limits to Growth, which

continued in another Canadian government-sponsored publication, The Conserver Society.

1.2 Anti-Consumption Comes to Canada: The Conserver Society

As part of the Canadian reaction to the growth debate, a team of scientists and academics at

the University of Montreal and McGill formed a think-tank calling itself the GAMMA

Research Team. In 1974, fourteen Federal agencies gave them a grant to study the

implications of the ‘conserver society.’ This term that had been popularized earlier in the

decade but remained ambiguous in its definition.

Unlike the Science Advisor’s report, The Conserver Society looked favourably on

the Club of Rome’s study; “we agree (largely) with the “view of reality” of Limits to Growth

and therefore recommend conservation.”14 In addressing this conservation, four ‘conserver’

society scenarios were considered that ranged from the status quo to an absolute reduction in

standard of living. The status quo was firmly rejected as an unsustainable option due to the

physical limits of a finite planet. The most easily attainable option for a more ‘conserving’

society was to focus on growth with conservation. This option was thought to be attainable

because it alters people’s behaviour without changing their value system. Consumers could

continue to accumulate goods and value materialism as long as they embraced the approach

11 Winstanley, 135 12 Ibid. 137 13 This was the most frequent response I received in informal discussions with people hostile to the subject matter of this thesis. 14Kimon Valaskakis et al. The Conserver Society: a workable alternative for the future (New York: Harper & Row, 1979) 3

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known as RICH: Reform Inefficient Consumption Habits. This includes selective buying,

efficient use of resources, renting rather than buying, and a better managed workday.

Although ‘growth with conservation’ has a potentially larger appeal, the emphasis on

efficiency does not challenge the ethics of accumulation, which is at the heart of the

problem. The ‘affluent state’ option was presented as challenging our growth ethic by

placing a ceiling on it. To address the potential problems of such a value shift, the authors

disputed the correlation between resource consumption and happiness:

If Americans were asked to reduce their energy consumption by one-half, many would recoil in apprehension and reject the idea. Yet energy consumption in 1960 was about half what it is now (1979)…Have we, by doubling our energy consumption, doubled our happiness? Still better, do we expect to double our present happiness by consuming twice as much energy in 1985?15

What drives our growth-oriented system is not happiness, but its unsatisfactory pursuit.

This is fueled by the continual proliferation and fragmentation of needs that we believe are

necessary to secure our happiness. The mass media and corporations manufacture these

needs through the use of advertising. This process is seen to be harmful to both physical

and mental environments, including the possibility of “great psychological alienation or

financial collapse, or both.”16

One of the objectives of halting our growth is ZANG: Zero Artificial Needs Growth.

As opposed to artificial needs, acceptable needs can be met with ‘conserver’ commodities –

high need, low ecological impact – and can be available to society as a whole, rather than to

only a privileged minority. A strategy to achieve this objective is ‘even-handed

advertising’: each commercial developing a new artificial need will be followed by an anti-

commercial attacking it. The justification for this system is based on the justice system

itself, where both sides are heard and the jury – in this case consumers – gets to make an

informed choice. Despite this potential challenge to our value system, the authors believe it

remains a plausible option, “perhaps going beyond our present system but certainly not

tearing at the fabric of our society.”17 A more controversial option that looks to “bring us

15 Valaskakis et al, 181 16 Ibid. 182 17 Ibid. 193

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back to saner levels of consumption”18 is through an absolute reduction in living standards

(as currently measured.) This option obviously implies a major value shift. This shift is

reflected in policies of negative growth in artificial needs, urban communities, and industry.

After reviewing the conserver society options, the GAMMA research team made a

number of general recommendations to the Canadian government. The first of these was to

quickly initiate a nation-wide debate on the issues raised by the conserver society.

Secondly, they judged the feasibility of the conserver society options and concluded that all

should be considered and debated at the national level.

The Canadian government’s refusal to initiate a national debate on the idea of a

conserver society when the GAMMA study was published could very well reflect the many

political barriers to this idea, which will be discussed at the start of Chapter Three. It could

also reflect the poor timing to start such a debate as the country was already engulfed in a

national debate on unity with Quebec. However, much like they did with The Limits to

Growth, the government funded a follow-up study. This study was undertaken by the

Science Council of Canada (SCC) and took a cordial view of The Conserver Society.

However, the SCC focused almost solely on the ‘growth with conservation’ option that

preferred efficiency and emphasized the need for new technologies. Even when addressing

the problems of our growing demands, the SCC continued to rely on the omnipotence of

technology. The believe, “More conserving types of technology would reduce demand and

alleviate present and projected supply shortages.”19 This example highlights a tendency of

many scientists to hijack the debate on limiting consumption, as they prefer to place their

faith in better technologies rather than a social value shift.

What was happening in Canada with declining interest in anti-consumption ideas

was also occurring in other countries. Commenting on the decline of anti-consumption

debate across the western world, Arne Naess noted, “By 1980 it was not ‘in’ anymore to be

‘ecologically minded’. Reading ecology as a part of general education stopped practically

18 Valaskakis et al 204 19 Ursula Franklin et al, Towards a Conserver Society: A Statement of Concern (Ottawa: Science Council Committee on “implications of a Conserver Society”, 1976). 48

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completely. Worse, many people had the feeling that they nevertheless knew what it was all

about, and did not want to hear any more distressing stories.20

In part, anti-consumption failed to become a social movement because its frames did

not resonate with the public, (this topic will be taken up in Chapter Three.) Moreover, the

hostility of government to this idea, which they obviously perceived as hostile to them, must

also be remembered. Yet we still are left to explain why an idea as crucial to our survival as

anti-consumption failed to generate a social movement among ordinary citizens. What has

become apparent among social movements who have succeeded during this period of mass

mobilization is that people need something or someone to rally around. In other words, the

growth of social movements can often be attributed to either a book or a charismatic leader.

It has become common knowledge that Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring is the founding text of

the environmental movement. Millions of people read this book and subsequently became

very concerned about pesticide use. This led to them successfully applying pressure on

public officials to address this problem, which culminated in the DDT ban. The texts we

have just reviewed, although they contain an equally important message, did not have the

broad appeal of Silent Spring. Reasons for this could be that their scientific prose is much

less accessible than Carson’s literary, novel-like approach. In the absence of an accessible

book a social movement can still grow, as was seen in the Civil Rights Movement. In this

case, people united behind visible leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.

The fact that anti-consumption did not produce an individual with comparable leadership

qualities of these great men, or an equally inspiring book, can help explain why a social

movement did not form at this time.

However, as important as these ingredients are, they should not be seen as both

necessary and sufficient for the development of a social movement. A social movement can

emerge on the backs of another social movement without a single leader or text. One could

argue that the Gay Rights Movement and Third Wave Feminism did just this with the Civil

Rights Movement. Therefore anti-consumption could have emerged out of

environmentalism, taking advantage of the growth and establishment of that movement.

20 Naess, 210

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However, this was not to be the case due to the subversive impact of a key concept

introduced in the mid-1980s: sustainable development.

1.3 Sustainable Development Champions Anti-Consumption

With similar international flare as the Club of Rome’s Limits to Growth, the World

Commission on Environment and Development’s Our Common Future elevated the concept

of sustainable development onto the world stage in 1987. The commission, chaired by

Norwegian Prime Minster Gro Harlem Brundtland, defined this concept as “development

that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to

meet their own needs.”21 Sustainable development parallels the ‘growth with conservation’

option from The Conserver Society, viewing conservation as possible with annual economic

growth rates of 5-8% in developing countries and 3-4% in the industrialized world.22 To

achieve this sustainability with this growth, seven policies were recommended, including

stabilizing the population and merging economic and environmental decision-making. Yet

the key ingredient in sustainable development is undoubtedly efficient technology.

Indicative of this emphasis is the fact that in the study’s index the term ‘technology’ is

referenced twenty-eight times as compared to the single reference for ‘conservation.’

In the years since Our Common Future, the notion of sustainable development

became increasingly popular in Canada. The Mulroney government implemented this and

other Brundtland rhetoric in Canada’s Green Plan. Although the Chretien government

scrapped this plan, he recently required each department in our federal government to

publish an annual sustainable development. Yet for anti-consumers, the issue is not

sustainable development, but changing the notion of ‘developing” to reflect something that

is more sustainable than economic growth in a finite planet. In recent years, calls for this

type of sustainability have resurfaced in the groups under consideration in this thesis. We

will now consider the origins and characteristics of these groups in more detail.

21 World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987) 2

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1.4 Origins of Anti-Consumption Groups

Deep Ecology. Deep Ecology is one of the first movements to have an anti-consumption

platform, as seen in Arne Naess’s 1973 article, “The Shallow and Deep, Long-Range

Ecology Movements.” The term ‘shallow ecology’ referred to the majority of the new

ecology movement, which was mainly concerned with short-term solutions to pollution and

resource depletion grounded in technological efficiency. In contrast, Deep Ecology focuses

precisely on the root causes of our environmental problems through a deep questioning of

our values and social activities. In 1984, George Sessions and Arne Naess further

articulated this concept with the Eight Platform Principles of the Deep Ecology Movement:

1. The well-being and flourishing of human and nonhuman Life on Earth have value in

themselves (synonyms: intrinsic value, inherent value). These values are independent of the usefulness of the nonhuman world for human purposes.

2. Richness and diversity of life forms contribute to the realizations of these values & are also values in themselves.

3. Humans have no right to reduce this richness and diversity except to satisfy vital human needs.

4. The flourishing of human life and cultures is compatible with a substantial decrease of human population. The flourishing of nonhuman life requires such a decrease.

5. Present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening.

6. Policies must therefore be changed. These policies affect basic economic, technological, and ideological structures. The resulting state of affairs will be deeply different from the present.

7. The ideological change is mainly that of appreciating life quality (dwelling in situations of inherent value) rather than adhering to an increasingly higher standard of living. There will be a profound awareness of the difference between big and great.

8. Those who subscribe to the foregoing points have an obligation to directly or indirectly try to implement the necessary changes.23

It is difficult to ascertain the number of people who support the above principles. As

Alan Drengson admits, “research on this does not exist yet.”24 If Victoria, B.C. is indicative,

however, local organizations based on Deep Ecology values exist across the western world.

Victoria has two notable examples. The first of these organizations is the Ecoforestry

Institute. Their mission is to recognize the intrinsic value of forests and promote

22 WCED, 24 23 Arne Naess and George Sessions. “Platform Principles of the Deep Ecology Movement” in Drengson and Inoue (eds.) The Deep Ecology Movement: An Introductory Anthology (Berkley: North Atlantic Books, 1995) 49-50

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“ecologically, socially and economically responsible forest use that maintains and restores

the complexity and diversity of our forests.”25 To accomplish this, the Ecoforestry Institute

has undertaken four areas of activity. The first of these is community outreach and

educating the public about the many benefits of ecoforestry through working with

community organizations, workshops, their website, and their seasonal journal Ecoforestry.

Secondly, they are developing certification standards that accurately reflect the level of

ecologically responsible forest practices. Thirdly, they teach people to become ecoforesters

through training programs and the placement of apprentices with more seasoned

ecoforesters. Lastly, they maintain a directory of all practitioners and organizations

associated with ecoforestry in British Columbia, which currently lists sixty-two

organizations. Alan Drengson recognizes great potential in this application of Deep

Ecology, “I have observed sizable growth in ecoforestry since 1997.”26

Another organization involved in Deep Ecology based in Victoria is the Ecostery

Foundation of North America (EFNA), which was formed in 1989 by Alan Drengson. The

term ecostery comes from the three roots words of ecology, ecosophy, and monastery. It

refers to a place where ecological values, knowledge and wisdom are learned, practiced, and

shared. An ecostery can be any size and geared to an individual, family, or community.

The only criteria is that it is “intentionally developed to realizing and teaching ecosophy.”27

According to their website, ‘ecosophy’ literally means “wisdom of the household place.”28

To articulate a personal ecosophy one must consider his/her ultimate values and

philosophies, through realizing their place in the natural environment. In helping people do

this, the EFNA website provides an extensive list of articles and links related to Deep

Ecology, along with information on land trusts and ecological designs for creating an

ecostery.

Work-Time Reduction. Turning to the Work Time Reduction, after 32 Hours lost its

funding in February 2000, Canada’s most organized lobby committed to WTR went into “a

24 Alan Drengson personal interview, January 14, 2002. 25 Ecoforestry website: http://ecoforestry.ca/default.htm?fr=society.htm 26 Drengson, interview 27 Ecostery websitewww.ecostery.org 28 Ibid.

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state of hibernation,” according to its policy and research director, Anders Hayden. 29 The

origins of 32 Hours go back to a series of conferences on the idea of WTR between 1994

and 1996. Out of these conferences came the platform of 32 Hours. It emphasizes several

goals:

1. The right to a job at a fair standard of compensation;

2. The right to leisure and time for family, community and one’s self;

3. A fair distribution of income and the elimination of poverty;

4. Good job opportunities for all young people entering the workforce;

5. An ecologically sustainable economy which does not depend on destructive forms of economic growth to solve social problems like unemployment;

6. The right to choose shorter work hours;

7. Full employment as a humane and just alternative to existing deficit reduction policies.30

32 Hours believes that a reduction and redistribution of work time is needed to

effectively achieve the above principles. Hayden notes that although everyone in the

movement agrees on the platform principles, they do so through a variety of motivations.

Some, like Hayden himself, are motivated by concerns about consumption and the

ecological effects of our lifestyle. Others are more concerned about jobs and quality of life,

which Hayden admits is directly related to his concerns, “although some people fail to make

this connection.”31 Nonetheless, everyone in the movement is concerned about

employment.

Although 32 Hours is no longer engaged in outreach programs with groups in the

community, one area where WTR continues to survive is in the labour sector. For example,

the Powell River Pulp & Paper Workers have become the most proactive union in Canada

with continual decreases in their workweek, corresponding decreases in pay, and a rejection

of overtime. On the other hand, workers not represented by unions have witnessed an

increasingly polarized trend. Full-time workers are logging more hours while there are less

29 Anders Hayden personal interview (via telephone) March 4, 2002. 30 32 Hours website: www.web.net/32hours 31 Hayden, interview.

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for part-time workers and none for the unemployed. This leads Hayden to recognize a lack

of flexibility for workers in choosing to work less. Hayden states,

In the Netherlands you can go to a boss and request a reduction from forty hours to thirty-two, and by law your boss has to grant it, unless he could prove it was not economically possible. In Canada you have to choose between working forty-five plus hours a week and receiving benefits, or working twenty hours with no benefits.32

The fact that people are unhappy in their present working conditions presents a real

opportunity for a WTR movement. The potential to appeal to these persons is great enough

that a future anti-consumption movement would be well advised to incorporate the ideas of

anti-consumption into their identity. It is for this reason that the now defunct 32 Hours has

been considered in our investigation of anti-consumption groups.

Mental Environment. The mental environmental movement in Canada can be traced back

to 1989 when Kalle Lasn saw a television commercial by the forest industry promoting

clear-cuts as a viable practice of ‘forest management.’ Enraged, he decided to make his own

commercial warning of the dangers of clear-cuts. However, Lasn quickly discovered that

none of the television networks in British Columbia would air it, including the Canadian

Broadcasting Corporation. This event forced Lasn to realize that “there was no democracy

on the airwaves.”33 In response, Lasn formed the Adbusters Media Foundation and created

his own not-for-profit media, Adbusters magazine. This magazine challenges our

indoctrination by corporate messaging through subvertisments (Lasn’s term for spoof ads)

and scathing political commentary.

Adbusters is also the home of, and media outlet for, the ‘Culture-Jammers Network.’

Culture Jamming can be defined as any subversive activities that make people rethink their

cultural assumptions. The objectives of culture jamming can be seen through their

manifesto:

We will take on the archetypal mind polluters and beat them at their own game. We will uncool their billion-dollar brands with uncommericals on TV, subvertisments

in magazines and anti-ads right next to theirs in the urban landscape.

32 Hayden, interview 33 Lasn, 249

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We will seize control of the roles and functions that corporations play in our lives and set new agendas in their industries.

We will jam the pop-culture marketers and bring their image factory to a sudden, shuddering halt.

On the rubble of the old culture, we will build a new one with a non-commercial heart and soul.34

In order to realize these lofty objectives Adbusters supports and publicizes subversive

activities and promotes its own international campaigns. Two of these campaigns that relate

most to anti-consumption are TV Turn-Off-Week and Buy Nothing Day.

Looking back on the history of anti-consumption we see the idea emerge in the

1970s and a convergence of forces prevent it from becoming a social movement. Three

decades later, the idea of anti-consumption has still not been defeated. Rather, it is more

organized at the grassroots level and presented in a greater variety of ways. Yet anti-

consumption cannot overlook its past. In order to move forward as a social movement, anti-

consumption groups will need to address the obstacles their idea has faced since the days of

The Limits to Growth. The first way this is to be achieved is through presenting a united

front. The following chapter proposes a set of shared principles that could achieve just that.

34 Lasn, 128

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Chapter Two: Overview of Anti-Consumption

In conceptualizing anti-consumption groups as a potential social movement, I have tried to

articulate their shared principles. Based on the literature of the different groups and

interviews with anti-consumers, a working version of an anti-consumption platform would

centre on the following points:

1. The consuming lifestyle wholly embraced in the industrialized world and increasingly in the developing world is the root cause of our environmental crisis.

2. This lifestyle has pushed us out of touch with nature, which has a potentially harmful effect on our psychological and spiritual health.

3. Continued economic growth, even if coupled with greater efficiency, is insufficient to address these problems, and should actually be viewed as the main contributing factor to them.

4. Therefore, we must change our consuming lifestyle and the values it currently embraces.

5. This value shift will result in greater joy and happiness in our lives, enabling an increased identification with nature and each other, more free time, and less need for material possessions.

The remainder of this chapter will expand upon the above principles using the language of

individuals and groups involved in anti-consumption struggles.

2.1 The environmental crisis is caused by consumption

The root causes around the environmental crisis have been clearly articulated by everyone

who has discussed anti-consumption themes. According to Arne Naess the problem is, “An

exponentially increasing, and partially or totally irreversible environmental deterioration or

devastation perpetuated through firmly established ways of production and consumption and

a lack of adequate policies regarding human population increase.”35 This causes of the

problem is echoed by Kalle Lasn, “the human experiment on Planet Earth is veering out of

control. Population growth, overconsumption, inappropriate technological applications, and

relentless economic expansion are destroying the life-support systems on which our future

depends.”36 Lastly, the movement for Work Time Reduction also connects our

35 Naess, 23 36 Lasn, 201

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environmental degradation with our consumption patterns. As Anders Hayden states,

“Consumption levels in the North have led to global problems such as the build-up of

greenhouse gases, depletion of the ozone layer, exhaustion of fisheries, unprecedented

species extinction, the loss of forests, and more.”37

Although the above quotes may seem repetitive, it is this shared problem-definition

that unites the anti-consumption movement. Despite the fact that some may find this

language strong, this first principle is possibly the most accessible to them. The connection

between consumption and ecological degradation has been complemented with scientific

fact, though absolute consensus on matters such as this rarely exist. Where the anti-

consumption groups become more controversial is in their connection between consumption

and its consequences on the mental environment.

2.2 Over consumption pollutes our mental environment

As the “Journal of the Mental Environment,” Adbusters is concerned with the negative

effects of our culture on human psychology. Kalle Lasn connects the pollution of the

mental environment with scientific studies citing growing rates of major depression across

all age groups since 1940, along with increasing rates of suicide, alcoholism, unipolar

disorder, bipolar disorder, and other mood disorders.38 Although there could be many

factors to explain this trend, Lasn believes “it is our mediated, consumption-driven culture

that’s making us sick.”39 An interrelated effect of this lifestyle is our growing disconnection

from nature. Supporters of Deep Ecology see this disconnection with nature as a

disconnection with our deeper self, leaving us with what Bill Devall and George Sessions

describe as “an isolated ego striving primarily for hedonistic gratification.”40 For work-time

reduction, it is the long hours we work that reduce the free time we have to experience the

outside world, and more meaningful experiences with family and friends. Whether the

terms used are overwork, polluted mental environment, or disconnection from nature the

point is the same: our consuming culture does not make us happy.

37 Anders Hayden. Sharing the Work, Sparing the Planet (Toronto: Between the Lines, 1999) 14 38 Lasn, 10 39 Lasn, 11 40 Bill Devall and George Sessions. Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered (Utah: Gibbs Smith, 1985) 67

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2.3 Anti-Consumer’s Critique of Sustainable Development

The above two points, although challenged by some sectors in society, could potentially be

accepted, albeit ignored, by mainstream environmentalism. Where anti-consumption breaks

from more moderate forms of environmentalism is in the solution to these problems. As we

saw in the previous chapter, the popularity of sustainable development has been a major

impediment to anti-consumption. Yet over the years a number of critiques have arisen from

anti-consumers that pose a serious challenge to the legitimacy of this concept.

We have already reviewed the philosophical arguments against technological

efficiency that go back as far as 1973 when Arne Naess first defined Deep Ecology in

relation to its shallow counterpart. Sustainable development is also critiqued through

empirical analysis. One of the most popular studies on the potential of efficiency comes

from the German concept of the “factor-four” economy. According to the study’s authors,

“The amount of wealth extracted from one unit of natural resources can quadruple. Thus we

can live twice as well – yet use half as much.”41 Such efficiency would surely satisfy even

the most dedicated anti-consumers. The problem is however, that these possible efficiency

gains become inconsequential when growth is factored in. The study’s own authors admit

that it would take only thirty years to erase all of the factor-four efficiency gains with the

5% annual rate of economic growth, (or an additional forty-seven years with a more modest

rate of three percent.)42 In reviewing this study, Anders Hayden believes we would be in a

much more difficult position after our growth caught up to our efficiency, as such gains

would again be necessary and the easiest means to achieve them would already be used up.

In “Making Development Sustainable” Paul Ekins suggests that we will require a

fifty-percent reduction in our environmental impact if we are to achieve long-term

sustainability. Ekins uses the popular equation for measuring environmental impact of

I=PCT, meaning impact (I) is the result of three forces: population (P), consumption per

capita (C), and the intensity of the consumption as measured by technology (T). Assuming

a population of 10 billion by 2050, and an annual growth rate of three percent, our

41 Ernst von Weizsacker, Amory B. Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. Factor Four: Doubling the Wealth – Halving the Resources ((London: Earthscan, 1997) quoted in Hayden. 19

21

environmental impact will quadruple in the next fifty years. Therefore, if we are to achieve

sustainability, technology must reduce the ecological impact of each unit of consumption by

93% over the next fifty years.43 Ekins concludes, “One need not be a technological pessimist

to doubt the feasibility of such a tall order.”44 These are just two of the many critiques of

sustainable development. It should also be noted that sustainable development does not

address the effects of advertising and consumption on our mental environment. For anti-

consumers, no matter how you look at it, sustainable development is not sufficient to deal

with our present crisis. Rather, if we expect to have a truly sustainable future, we must

rethink the notion of development by reducing our consumption and altering our lifestyle.

2.4 Embrace a change in values

In lieu of continued economic growth under the guise of sustainable development, advocates

of anti-consumption recognize that a social value shift is both necessary and welcome. This

value shift exists at the individual, community, and government levels. Anders Hayden

believes this shift goes beyond an acceptance of efficiency and involves, “a shift in

prevailing cultural values away from consumerism towards sufficiency.”45 Kalle Lasn also

echoes this view that a value shift will be at the centre of the cultural revolution he desires.

Yet Lasn understands that value shifts don’t simply happen as a result of reading a book,

seeing a movie, or other “nice little things.”46 Lasn believes that people only change their

values when they “hit the wall”; when they are forced to confront a problem that has grown

so serious that they have no other alternative. The Great Depression represents the type of

event capable of getting a whole society to rise up and pull off a cultural shift, such as

rethinking the infallibility of capitalism. According to Lasn, “this is what we need, not nice

quiet talk.”47 It is important to remember that these shifts can happen at a social level, but

also at an individual level, such as a crisis of credit card debt. Lasn points to Vicki Robin’s

Your Money or Your Life as helping people shift their values after ‘hitting’ this personal

42 Hayden, 26 43 Ibid. 28 44 Paul Ekins. “Making Development Sustainable” in Wolfgang Sachs (ed.) Global Ecology (Halifax: Fernwood Publishing, 1993) quoted in Hayden, 26 45 Hayden, 20 46 Kalle Lasn, Personal interview, December 13, 2001. 47 Lasn, interview.

22

financial ‘wall’. Similarly, in the popular PBS series “Affluenza” and later book of the

same name, John De Graaf et al address the social disease of Affluenza.. The authors

defined this epidemic as “a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload,

debt, anxiety, and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.”48 To cure this, we are

shown ways to change our values involving reducing our desires and liberating our lives

from ‘keeping up with the Joneses.’

The Deep Ecology movement also agrees that a value shift is necessary, but disagrees

that ‘hitting the wall’ is required. It argues that this shift will occur once people recognize

the inherent fallacies of economic growth. In the words of Arne Naess, “We need types of

societies and communities in which one delights in the value-creative aspects of equilibrium

rather than the glorification of value-neutral growth.”49 The way such a value shift is

achieved is through self-realization, one of the central norms of Deep Ecology. This process

involves rediscovering one’s deeper self and interconnection with the non-human world. It

has already been mentioned that the modern self is solely consumed with ego satisfaction.

In order to develop the ‘ecological self,’ one must engage in the continual practice of deep

questioning. Alan Drengson offers four basic questions to start: “What kind of world is

this? How do we fit into the world and how does this come to be? What is of most value and

how is it to be achieved? How can we help develop a better world?”50 If we truly question

the world around us we will become aware of our identity in it and recognize its intrinsic

value, a process that Drengson refers to as “coming to know who you are in the deepest

sense.”51

2.5 A value shift will result in greater joy in the experience of life

For supporters of Deep Ecology, there are numerous results of the continual process of self-

realization, all of which involve a greater joy and deeper experience of life. These include

embracing the concept of ‘biocentric equality’ whereby we recognize that all things in the

biosphere have an equal right to live. This helps transform our view of the environment,

48 John de Graff, et al . Affluenza (San Francisco: Berret-Koehler, 2001) 2 49 Naess, 24 50 Alan Drengson, ES 300A class lecture, October 17, 2001. 51 Drengson, interview

23

which Arne Naess believes we will come to see as “something valuable which we are

inclined to treat with joy and respect.”52 Our greater joy relates directly to anti-consumption

as it reduces our need for satisfaction in material possessions and replaces it with a

satisfaction in nature and relationships with others. Along with greater joy, self-realization

also involves a process of maturity. Naess links our greater-identification with maturity,

“increasing maturity activates more of the personality in relation to more of the milieu.”53

Drengson takes this concept of maturity one step further to involve wisdom and

responsibility. He advocates,

To get higher levels of behaviour you must enlarge the sense of responsibility. We have a high level of denial of responsibility – especially with the environment – and the media does not encourage any maturity as its focus is more on consumption… Immaturity can be defined as attempts to control…If you drop the control you must become wise.54

A different way to conceptualize society’s collective self-realization is in what Kalle

Lasn refers to as a cultural revolution. Lasn believes that revolutions have gotten a bad

name due to the bloodbaths that people associate with them. The cultural revolution that

Lasn hopes for is not about violence. Rather, he says, “we’re fighting for joy and

excitement.”55

It has been the experience of the Work Time Reduction movement that initially the

vast majority of people reject the prospect of working less. After it is forced on them

however, they fully appreciate the value of free time and are in fact happier working less.

Two examples illustrate this phenomenon. In 1993, Ontario Premier Bob Rae attempted to

reduce government expenditure by forcing public sector employees with salaries over

$30 000 to take nine unpaid days off. The move was fiercely resisted by the Canadian

Union of Public Employees. Yet after the days off were taken, Anders Hayden found that

most employees welcomed the experience. As one social contract worker put it, “For me,

the impact of the money reduction was nothing compared to the freedom I got with those

52 Naess, 85 53 Ibid. 86 54 Drengson, interview 55 Lasn, interview

24

extra nine days off.”56 Similarly, in 1994 Bell Canada reduced the workweek of its

technicians by 8% with a corresponding decrease in pay. When the measure was put in

place, 90% of the technicians were against it, yet four months later only 15.4% wanted to

return to full time.57 The lesson to be learned from these experiences is that when people

move away from an all-consuming lifestyle, they often find themselves more content.

The preceding discussion has only scratched the surface of the ideas of anti-

consumption groups in Canada. Yet this brief description indicates that despite the diversity

in this movement, there are unifying principles. In what follows we will use a social

movement analysis to see if the anti-consumption groups are capable of forming a broad-

based social movement capable of advancing these principles.

56 Hayden, 119 57 Ibid. 54

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Chapter Three: Social Movement Analysis This chapter reviews the tactics being used to create an anti-consumption social movement.

Here we return to Sidney Tarrow’s definition of social movements: contentious politics

sustained by social networks capable of challenging powerful opponents. It takes little

imagination to think of the powerful opponents that an anti-consumption movement must

challenge. This opposition includes business interests, governments, and anyone who sees

changes to the status quo as threatening. These groups cite arguments about liberalism (we

are free to consume whatever we want) and the infallibility of capitalist progress. It should

be remember that the mere presence of these powerful opponents does not de facto prevent

an anti-consumption movement from developing. Such powerful opposition existed to the

Civil Rights movement and later to the rise of feminism and Gay Rights. The question is

not whether strong opposition exists, but how capable a movement is in responding to it. To

address this, I will first consider some of the actual policies that could be the nucleus of an

anti-consumption movement in Canada. This will give us a good indication of what the

movement might look like. To understand how the anti-consumption groups can get to this

point, I will then analyze their social movement tactics in accordance with Sidney Tarrow’s

framework.

3.1 A Sketch of a Future Anti-Consumption Movement

A strong anti-consumption movement in Canada would change the way we measure the

health of this country. Our current measure is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which is

measures all the economic activity within the country. Arne Naess, Kalle Lasn, and Anders

Hayden have all written critiques of this measurement, arguing that it gives an incomplete

picture of the state of our country. For example, GDP counts pollution four times: when it’s

produced, when it’s cleaned up, any health care costs it creates, and any legal fees from law

suits arising from it. Thus, with the GDP as the only measure of our national health,

pollution appears to be desirable. This was the case following the Exxon Valdez oil spill in

Alaska. Though this environmental catastrophe inflicted chaotic damage on the local

ecosystem, it also increased America’s GDP by $2 billion through the clean-up efforts. Not

only does the GDP ignore environmental degradation, it also promotes inefficient

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consumption. By not distinguishing between waste, luxury, and a satisfaction of

fundamental needs, the GDP “supports irresponsible and harmful resource consumption,”58

according to Arne Naess. These are just two of the many critiques against this indicator of

“progress” and our national health.

To replace the GDP, an anti-consumption movement would promote the use of an

indicator such as the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI.) This is calculated by subtracting

eighteen social costs from the total economic measurements in the GDP. These subtractions

include crime, air/water/noise pollution, automobile accidents, loss of leisure time, loss of

wetlands/farmland/old-growth forests, and the depletion of nonrenewable resources.59

Social scientists at Redefining Progress – the California-based organization that invented

the GPI – have seen a gradual decline in their indicator since the mid-1970s, despite

continued exponential growth in the GDP.60 Once people began to accept the GPI as a more

accurate measurement of our national health, it is safe to assume that they would begin to

doubt the desirability of our unfettered capitalist growth.

With the beginnings of a collective paradigm shift promoted by the GPI, an anti-

consumption movement would also push for policies that foster this shift on a more personal

level, such as work-time reduction. 32 Hours has articulated a number of policies towards

this objective, because they believe we all have the right to shorter work hours. Legislation

promoting this right would guarantee all employees the right to voluntarily reduce their

work time, (with a proportionate reduction in pay), through such flexible measures as a

shorter work week/day, sabbaticals, extended vacations, and/or early retirement.61

To combat the opportunity to use more free time to go shopping or ‘max-out’ credit

cards, an anti-consumption movement would promote lifestyles based on voluntary

simplicity and place controls on advertising to limit the growth of artificial needs. These

measures would include the suggestion from The Conserver Society of ‘even-handed

advertising.’ Under this policy the media would be obliged to provide opponents with time

58 Naess, 146 59 de Graff et al, 228. 60 Redefining Progress website: rprogress.org 61 32 Hours website: www.web.net/32hours

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to present counter-ads questioning the value of unecological products. Other policies that

would help control our consumption are the current techniques used in tobacco control;

including limits on advertising and sponsorships, warning labels, and public health

campaigns. The justification for these measures is that tobacco is dangerous to a person’s

health. If an anti-consumption movement was to be able to convince people that

unecological consumption (such as Sport Utility Vehicles or Styrofoam cups) is dangerous

for our collective health, then such measures could be applied to these products as well.

The trio of policies outlined here gives a taste of what we might expect from a robust

anti-consumption movement. There would of course be powerful opposition to these

policies and movement in general we already mentioned. The best way to address this

opposition would be for anti-consumption groups to form a social movement, based on

strong social networks and capable of sustaining contentious action. In his 1998 book,

Power in Movement, Sidney Tarrow has detailed the variety of tactics that social

movements use to develop these social networks and engage in contentious action.

Consideration of these tactics helps illuminate the barriers to anti-consumption groups’

efforts to become an influential social movement.

3.2 Trigger Events

Sidney Tarrow sees trigger events as an unique opportunity for a social movement to expand

its popular base. Movements take off “when political opportunities are opened for well-

placed “early risers,” when their claims resonate with those of significant others, and when

these give rise to objective or explicit coalitions among disparate actors and create or

reinforce instability in the elite.” 62 The progress of social movements in the context of

these events is furthered by state responses that reject their claims, which can often lead to

other groups sympathizing with the social movement and lending their support to its base. It

is important to note that Tarrow’s “early risers” are aware of the political environment

around them and able to place events into that context. In order to use a trigger event to

catalyze change, social movement actors must take advantage of the emotional outpouring

that surrounds such an event and channel it into demands for political change. Tarrow

62 Tarrow, 144

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labels these people early-risers because they are taking action while the emotional

outpouring still exists. To analyze anti-consumption groups’ responses to trigger events we

will review their reaction to two potential trigger events, the World Trade Organization

protest in Seattle in November 1999, and the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.

For Alan Drengson, the fight against globalization and September 11th have

resounded deeply within the Deep Ecology Movement as they, “underscored the importance

of diversification, localization, and having no ultimate philosophies.”63 Drengson believes

that these events can help broaden support for Deep Ecology, which has already undergone

“an absolute explosion” in its size over the last twenty years.64 Similarly, Anders Hayden

cited examples of an “emotional outpouring,” with more people finding their work

“meaningless” following the terrorist attacks.65 The event shocked them and led to

questions about what they value in their lives. Many re-prioritized their jobs in light of

more important things such as more free time to spend with loved ones. As Hayden

describes it, there appears to be a great potential for people to embrace the idea of working

and consuming less in the context of this emotional outpouring. It is unfortunate that

Canada did not have a WTR lobby around the time of these terrorist attacks that could help

people reconsider their values and priorities. In the absence of this organized effort to help

people change their values, Hayden admits, “the corporate agenda will try to shift this back

as soon as possible.”66

Adbusters has tried to prevent corporations from recapturing consumers following

September 11th. To appreciate its response to September 11th, one must review Adbusters’

reaction to the previous trigger event of ‘The Battle in Seattle.’ This event displayed the size

and strength of the social movement sector and clearly drew the battle lines with their

powerful opponents. In the words of Kalle Lasn, the Seattle protest was “a catalytic point

for a new kind of activism.”67 This new multi-faceted activism emerged in a few dominant

hubs including anti-corporations, media democracy, and critiques of neoclassical

63 Drengson, interview 64 Ibid. 65 Hayden, interview 66 Ibid. 67 Lasn, interview

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economics. As Adbusters was involved in the protest beforehand they were well positioned

to be one of Tarrow’s ‘early risers’ and take advantage of this trigger event by giving a

voice to it, (along with other alternative media such as ‘The Independent Media Centre.’)

Looking back on the event, Adbusters’ campaign manager Paul Dechene concludes, “Seattle

re-energized Adbusters.”68 The protest reaffirmed their struggles, which they responded to

with more aggressive political commentary and a deeper conviction in the need for cultural

changes. This strategy has been successful in terms of Adbusters’ impressive growth since

the WTO protest in terms of their circulation, participation in campaigns, and website use.

Like everyone else, Adbusters was not expecting September 11th. Dechene admits,

“it took us some time to come up with how we we’re going to deal with it.”69 Prior to the

terrorist attacks Adbusters had launched a campaign that was selling American flags with

corporate logos in place of stars. Since many environmental groups in the United States

were silencing any criticisms of the American administration, Adbusters initiated a debate

on their website as to whether they too should discontinue this campaign. The response was

“overwhelming” with over two-thirds of the respondents in favour of continuing the

campaign. Adbusters concluded that, “it was precisely the time to say provocative things.”70

Once this decision was made Adbusters came out with their most controversial issue to date.

Featuring a burning American flag on the cover, it was highly critical of the North American

consuming lifestyle. Adbusters also jumped on people’s ‘emotional outpouring’ of disgust

at our inequality with the rest of the world. Lasn believes that framing inequality as a root

cause of terrorism was an effective way to get through to people. He admits, “this has hit

home more than ever.”71 Furthermore, this connection proved valuable in forming alliances

with the peace movement.

Thus, it appears that through the efforts of Adbusters, the trigger event of September

11th has been properly placed in a context favourable to an anti-consumption movement in

Canada. They have defined the movement clearly vis a vis the state and created

opportunities for coalitions with other groups. The question is whether this will last. Based

68 Lasn, interview 69 Paul Deschene, personal interview, December 13, 2001 70 Ibid. 71 Ibid.

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on the sustained growth of Adbusters following the WTO in Seattle, there is grounds for

hope that it will.

3.3 Framing the Movement

Following the opportunity for growth presented by a trigger event, a movement must present

itself to the public through a collective identity frame, also known as a collective action

frame. Tarrow defines frames as the symbols used to portray the identity of a movement; to

name its grievances and connect them to other grievances. The objective of framing for

Tarrow is to construct “ a larger frame of meaning that will resonate with the population and

communicate a uniform message to power holders.” 72 David A. Snow and Robert D. define

frames slightly differently. They argue, “ Collective action frames underscore and embellish

the seriousness and injustice of a social condition or redefine as unjust and immoral what

was previously seen as unfortunate but perhaps tolerable.” 73 Finding the right frame for a

movement can be a difficult exercise and if done poorly will be a barrier to the public’ s

acceptance of the movement. To meet this challenge movements must balance old and

familiar symbols with ones that are new and exciting, yet still recognizable. A second

challenge is to find another balance between frames broad enough to be inclusive, while

avoiding the pitfall of being too general and thus easily misunderstood.

A very important frame for anti-consumers it that which links our environmental

crisis to the problem of consumption. For Snow and Beadford, this frame makes the

unfortunate consequences of our consumption completely unjust and immoral. In essence, it

asks, who are we to destroy Mother Nature? When using this frame, Arne Naess cautions

that the movement must be careful to avoid being overly negative. Rather, Naess believes

Deep Ecology should promote the positive aspects of our situation with frames such as,

“ The crisis of life conditions on Earth could help us choose a new path with new criteria for

72 Tarrow, 110 73 David A. Snow and Robert D. Bedford. “ Ideology, Frame Resonance, and Participant Mobilization” in Klandermas, Kriesi, and Tarrow, eds. International Social Movement Research: From Structure to Action Vol. 1 (Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1988) 117

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progress, efficiency, and rational action.” 74 Similarly, Naess warns against being seen as

“ against things.” He advocates that Deep Ecology should not be “ against industry in

general” , rather it should explain that industry has traditionally been something different

than what it is conceived of today, “ big industry.” 75 This appears to be an effective frame

that could resonate with the population. Its positive message helps avoid what Naess saw as

the downfall of the movement in the early 1980s when people “ did not want to hear any

more distressing stories.” 76

Another popular frame of anti-consumption groups is the concept of happiness. This

term is frequently employed when discussing why we should shift our consumption

patterns, and the effect of this. The problem with this frame is that it is an intangible and

therefore susceptible to being easily misunderstood. As an anonymous wise man once said,

“ money can’ t make you happy, but it can buy you a car fast enough to drive up next to

happiness and wave.” 77 With everyone having a different interpretation of happiness it may

be difficult to unite large groups of people under the idea that they can be happier if the

consume less. The other side of this frame; that our consuming culture causes depression, is

also problematic. Root causes of mental health problems are often very complex and many

people may resist the idea that they are not happy, even if they in fact suffer from these

problems. Since these frames present a possible barrier to mass support of an anti-

consumption movement, let us consider some alternatives being used.

In getting people to rethink how they value their salary and what it would take to get

them to consider a possible decrease by working less, 32 Hours has employed a variety of

frames. Through his experience in this effort, Anders Hayden has learned, “ happiness is a

difficult sell.” 78 Although some people understand the potential benefits of voluntary

simplicity right away, Hayden sees problems in “ getting the whole workplace beyond a few

pioneers to agree to it.” 79 Therefore, to frame WTR in way that people will respond

positively Hayden believes, “ Framing it as decrease in income worthy of increase in free

74 Naess, 26 75 Ibid. 155 (emphasis in original) 76 Ibid. 210 77 This tidbit of wisdom was first relied to me by my philosophical mentor, Christopher ‘Tumor’ Milne. 78 Hayden, interview 79 Ibid.

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time, is not effective. To sell them a decrease in income, or preferably not an increase in

wages, coupled with increased jobs for others, such as their own neighbors, people become

much more receptive.” 80 Another successful framing tactic for 32 Hours was the

work/family balance. When people believe they are choosing between less or more money,

they will take the latter. When they think they are choosing between more money or more

time with their family, along with less stress and burnout from over work, they will be more

attracted to the idea of WTR.

The experience of 32 Hours as successfully framing happiness in more specific

terms, be it altruism or time with family, is echoed in some American anti-consumption

texts such as Your Money or Your Life and Affluenza. In addition to the aforementioned

frames, these books also frame the mental effects of consumption with palpable measures

such as credit card and other forms of debt. For this frame to resonate with the population

people need not visit a psychiatrist, but only look at their last VISA bill. Thus consuming

and desiring less, the solution to their problems, can be framed in terms of getting beyond

their debt. The effectiveness of this frame can also be seen through the success of

bestsellers such as Simple Abundance and Voluntary Simplicity.

The lesson to be learned for an anti-consumption movement hoping to successfully

frame their struggle is to be wary of intangible frames such as happiness or overtly negative

frames such as anti-industry. It appears that a better tactic is to use more specific frames.

This allows people to formulate their own connection between their consumption patterns

and its effect on their mental and physical environments. These will be stronger than any

connection others make for them.

3.4 Resources

The mobilization of resources is the bridge between a movement’ s frames and its collective

actions. How a movement is framed helps determine how much resources are available to it

and where they will come from. For John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald, “ resources must

80 Hayden, interview

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be controlled or mobilized before any action is possible.” 81 These resources can include

legitimacy, money, facilities, and labour. Since Sidney Tarrow pays little attention to

resources in his analysis, the theories of McCarthy and Zald will provide the framework for

this section. McCarthy and Zald see the task of resource mobilization as two-fold. A

movement must first convert adherents; people who potentially agree with the ideas of a

movement, into constituents; people who provide resources, and maintain their involvement

in the movement. Secondly, people who do not necessarily agree with the movement’ s

goals, referred to as the “ bystander public,” must be turned into adherents. In mobilizing

these resources a movement’ s success is determined by a number of factors. McCarthy and

Zald list ten of these factors and five of them are applicable to anti-consumption groups.

The first determinate of a movement’ s ability to mobilize resources is simply the

amount of resources available from the public. During recessions or periods of economic

downturn people are less inclined to share their shrinking amounts of free time and money

with charities and social movements. This barrier to resource mobilization can be overcome

through the ways a movement communicates with its audience. Certain groups can

capitalize on the remaining resources by presenting themselves as more appealing than other

groups. These actions are in fact necessary even during economic booms. McCarthy and

Zald believe “ the greater the absolute amount of resources available to the social movement

sector, the greater the likelihood that new social movement will develop and compete for

these resources.” 82 No matter what the state of the economy is, social movements have a

tough time in competing for resources. Anti-consumption groups are not immune from this.

One reason that 32 Hours lost its funding in 2000 could have been that the economic boom

during that period led to a proliferation of groups vying for the greater pool of resources and

they were not able to compete against these new groups.

A second factor in resource mobilization is the self-interest of individuals providing

the resources. In The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson argues that individuals

must see a personal benefit in supporting any groups otherwise the “ free-rider” problem

81 John D. McCarthy and Mayer N. Zald, “ Resource Mobilization and Social Movements: A Partial Theory” in McCarthy and Zald (eds.) Social Movements in an Organizational Society (Somerset, NJ: Transaction Books, 1987) 22 82 Ibid. 27

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persists. Olson explains, “ Though all of the members of the group have a common interest

in obtaining this collective benefit, they have no common interest in paying the cost of

providing that collective good. Each would prefer that the others pay the entire cost, and

ordinarily would get any benefit provided whether he had borne part of the cost or not.” 83 In

the last few decades Olson’ s theory has come under constant criticism from theorists who do

not believe it accurately explains mobilization. For example, Deborah Stone claims “ the

logic’ s prediction is betrayed by reality.” 84 The reality was that in 1960s and 1970s social

movements “ formed in waves, almost as if political mobilization were contagious.” 85 This

mass support for social movements can be attributed to pressure from friends and family as

well as the joy one felt from participating in them more. This leaves Stone to conclude that

people are often ruled more by their passions than their economic logic. Though anti-

consumption groups may be able to get away with having people support their movement

for reasons other than self-interest, they should not ignore Olson’ s theory. Fortunately, by

framing the movement with personal benefits such as more free time and less debt, people

can support anti-consumption for reasons other than what is in the best interests of society.

Another way Olson’ s theory has been challenged comes from McCarthy and Zald.

They believe that the wealthier an individual is the less chance their philanthropy will be

determined by their economic self-interest. In respect to this, anti-consumption groups

should continue to avoid passing judgment on private wealth. Anti-consumption does not

mean anti-wealth, because on its own there is nothing wrong with money. Wealth becomes

a problem when it fuels inefficient and unecological consumption. However, as McCarthy

and Zald show, wealth can also do tremendous good in our society and may well play a role

in allowing anti-consumption groups to form a social movement.

Another factor in resource mobilization is the relationship between a movement and

its constituents. McCarthy and Zald believe “ the more a SMO (social movement

organization) is dependent upon isolated constituents, the less stable will be the flow of

83 Mancur Olson. The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1971) 21 84 Deborah Stone Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (New York: W.W. Norton, 1997) 215 85 Ibid. 217

35

resources to the SMO.” 86 When a movement’ s supporters are not involved in much face-to-

face dealings with a movement, their support is dependent on how the movement advertises

itself and its levels of goal accomplishment. Though these efforts can be very successful,

they are often more susceptible to patterns of consumer expenditure. McCarthy and Zald

note factors such as “ the time of year, state of checkbook, mood, and product arousal” as

influencing whether people will lend their support to a movement they are not directly

involved in.87

This barrier of unstable resources from isolated constituents has already impact anti-

consumption groups. 32 Hours was relying almost solely on the Atkinson Foundation for

their financial resources. This foundation had little contact with them other than through

grant proposals. When the time came to renew a three-year grant, the Foundation denied

their request. Competition with other groups could have contributed to this as previously

mention, and it has not been revealed what the motivation behind this decision was. The

lesson is not that such founding from ‘isolated constituents’ should be refused, but it can be

a barrier when solely relied upon. Groups such as the Ecostery Foundation of North

America and Adbusters are both supported by Tides, a San Fransisco based grant-handling

agency. One can hope that this agency is more reliable than the Atkinson Foundation. If it

proves to be equally unstable, Adbusters is also involved in other fundraising efforts that

complement their resource base. Such mobilization of resources in multiple areas

comprising of both isolated and more isolate involved supporters will be necessary for an

anti-consumption movement to develop.

A final factor that is applicable to the resource mobilization of anti-consumption

groups is their competition with more established groups. McCarthy and Zald believe

“ Older, more established SMOs are more likely than newer SMOs to persist throughout the

cycles of growth and decline.” 88 When group competition increases, having name

recognition and a history of accomplishment is a very important asset for a social

movement. Often longevity alone provides enough legitimacy to garner support. In

addition, older movements have “ higher degrees of professional sophistication, existing ties

86 McCarthy and Zald, 30 87 Ibid. 32

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to constituents, and experience in fund-raising procedures,” according to McCarthy and

Zald.89 The presence of older movements is a barrier that anti-consumption groups are

going to have to accept since they are not about to go away. Like the other resource

mobilization factors, the best way for this barrier to be overcome is by anti-consumers using

resonant frames, successful media strategies, and effective collective action tactics.

3.5 Collective Action Tactics

Before considering the more sensational ways that anti-consumption groups get their

message across, it is important to remember that more passive forms of collective actions

occur as well. These include public workshops by 32 Hours and the Ecoforestry

Foundation. To provide resources on anti-consumption ideas, groups also use websites and

newsletters. These activities are often over looked by social movement theorists, including

Sidney Tarrow. Yet the important role they play in educating the public and helping people

graps the idea of anti-consumption should not be undervalued. It may be possible that these

educational tactics make people more receptive to, and willing to participate in, the more

contentious forms of collective action. Therefore, a future anti-consumption movement in

this country should continue to employs both educational and contentious actions in getting

its message across.

Turning to the more contentious ways a movement expresses itself, Sidney Tarrow

believes there are three types of collective action: violence, disruption, and convention. Due

to the acceptance of Gandhian principles of passive resistance by Arne Naess and others in

Deep Ecology, those involved in anti-consumption struggles reject violence as a form of

collective action. Tarrow looks favourably on this as the harmful effects of violence “ gives

authorities a mandate for repression and turns nonviolent sympathizers away.” 90 Anti-

consumption groups also do not tend to engage often in more conventional actions such as

large strikes or demonstrations. Although these tactics have the potential to involve a lot of

people, Tarrow recognizes that they also have considerable weaknesses due to their

88 McCarthy and Zald, 34 89 Ibid. 35 90 Tarrow, 96

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“ institutionalization and lack of excitement.” 91 Thus the preferred collective action tactic

for anti-consumption groups, most notably the Culture Jammers at Adbusters, is disruption,

which will constitute our focus in this section.

Disruptive tactics can be seen as one of a social movement’ s greatest strengths.

Tarrow believes these actions can “ spread uncertainty and give weak actors leverage against

powerful opponents.” 92 Additionally, Tarrow favours disruption because it achieves three

principle objectives:

First, it is the concrete performance of a movement’ s determination… At the same time, disruption obstructs the routine activities of opponents, bystanders, or authorities and forces them to attend to protesters’ demands. Finally, disruption broadens the circle of conflict. By blocking traffic or interrupting public business, protestors inconvenience bystanders, pose a risk to law and order, and draw authorities into a private conflict.93

Due to its inherent instability, disruption is not as common a form of collective action as

more conventional tactics. The problem is often that without a high level of commitment,

disruptive action divides a movement into a majority who favour more conventional forms

of collective action and a militant minority who become prone to violence. Furthermore,

authorities must be kept increasingly off balance and this can seldom be maintained for

longer periods of time. We will now consider how successful anti-consumption efforts have

been in this regard with their most disruptive and popular campaign, Buy Nothing Day.

Since its inception in 1992, Buy Nothing Day (BND) has come to symbolize popular

resistance to society’ s values of mass consumerism due to its effects on the planet and

ourselves. BND is observed on what is historically seen as the busiest shopping day of the

year, the Friday following the American Thanksgiving holiday. This event has grown

considerably over the years. The 2001 edition was the largest ever with over one million

people in sixty-four countries worldwide supporting the event.94 Support in eighteen of

91 Tarrow,104 92 Ibid. 98 93 Ibid. 96 94 Kalle Lasn, personal interview (via telephone) November 30, 2001

38

these countries was large enough to merit an official BND website and activity organizers.95

In the weeks and days leading up to BND a campaign is launched to get an “ uncommercial”

on major television networks promoting the event. The big networks invariably decline,

which prompts Kalle Lasn to go to the newspapers and declare the lack of democracy on the

airwaves. Lasn’ s efforts have been rewarded not only with two sympathetic articles in the

New Your Times and Wall Street Journal, but also with the a 30-second spot on CNN’s

Headline News. It is the very nature of this commercial to disrupt and obstruct people’ s

daily routine with its blunt message:

The average North American consumes five time more than a Mexican, ten times more than a Chinese person, and thirty times more than someone from India… We are the most voracious consumers in the world… … a world which could die because of the way North Americans live. Give it a rest. November 23rd is But Nothing Day.96

Whether or not they actually see this commercial, most people who participate in

BND do so by simply not buying anything, thus following its slogan, ‘participate by not

participating.’ However there has been a large amount of disruptive collective actions over

the years as well, much of which occurs directly in businesses, giving actors leverage and

forcing the attention of consumers. In November 2001, a number of Canadian malls were

targeted. A huge banner was draped in a mall in Thunder Bay and a free potluck was held

in a food court in Victoria. Other tactics include postering, credit-card cut ups, street

theatres, and ‘radical cheerleaders’ performing inside Gap stores and other retail outlets

warning customers of the dangers of consumerism. 97 Though these actions are widely

publicized by Adbusters, no evidence exists of any economic effect on consumer sales

during BND.

It is difficult to tell at this stage if the disruptive tactics in Buy Nothing Day will be

able to overcome the instability Tarrow predicts for this type of collective action. Thus far

it appears that commitment is only growing stronger, rather than threatening to split the

movement. It also seems to be the case that even though this event is becoming more

95 Buy Nothing Day contact list, downloaded November 27 2001 from www.Adbusters.org/campaigns/BND/contact.html 96 Buy Nothing Day uncommercial, downloaded November 27, 2001 from www.Adbusters.org/campaigns/BND/uncommercial.html

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recognized, authorities have been kept off balance. This is due in no small part to the

variety of disruptive tactics employed, which Adbusters encourages, “ It’ s a culture jam – no

one’ s drawing up any rules.” 98

We can conclude then that the collective action tactics employed by anti-

consumption groups is not a limiting factor in the popularity of this idea, but should in fact

be seen as contributing to its slow growth. What is needed is not a shift in tactics, but if

anything, more resources to broaden the scope of the tactics already being employed. But

Nothing Day appears to be an effective form of disruptive action, but we should keep in

mind that it does not address consumption the other 364 days a year. Furthermore, skeptics

have argued that BND simply leads to “ hording” and people buying twice as much the day

before or the day after, thus not significantly changing their buying habits in any way.99

3.6 Media Coverage

Once a movement’ s collective action tactics propel it into the public’ s attention, much

public opinion will be shaped by the mass media’ s interpretation of the movement.

According to William K. Carroll and R.S. Ratner, “ Since the 1970s studies of popular

culture and social movements have viewed the mass media as a key site of political

contention in advanced capitalism.” 100 Media strategies are used by social movements to

critique the existing social conditions, disrupt the prevalent discourse, and articulate

alternative identities, ways of life, or progressive state policies. Though these strategies can

often be successful, the media’ s relationship with a movement is rarely equal and this can

often constitute a barrier to a social movement’ s development. In a study of social

movement’ s media strategies in British Columbia, Carroll and Ratner characterize the

movement/media relation as one of asymmetrical dependency. This phrase refers to

97 Adbusters vol.10 no. 2, March/April 2002 98 Ibid. 99 Casey Brennan, a former Green Party candidate, provided this criticism for why his party did not support Buy Nothing Day. 100 William K. Carroll and R.S. Ratner, “ Media Strategies and Political Projects: A Comparative Study of Social Movements” in The Canadian Journal Of Sociology 24(1) 1999, 2

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the position of the media at the centre of a mass communications network gives media a spectrum of options for “ making the news” while movements have few options beyond the mass media for getting their messages to wide publics. The fact that movements need the media far more than the media need them translates itself into grater power for the media in the transaction.101

Sidney Tarrow also repeats the media’ s preference for “ making news” and the problems this

can cause. Tarrow believes, “ The media focuses on what “ makes” news… The single

student in a peaceful antiwar protest who throws a rock at a police line… makes better copy

no matter how many marchers were parading peacefully down a city street. In this way, the

media accentuate the militant strains found in any collection of activists.” 102 According to

Adbusters, the WTO protests is a classic example of this with “ regular people beginning to

understand this message (of the protesters)… then the hype machine starts and sets out to

damage the protestors.” 103 Despite their power and ability to portray a movement in a

harmful way, social movements still often use the media in beneficial ways.

There are two ways the asymmetrical dimension of the media can be addressed by a

social movement. For Carroll and Ratner the first of these is to “ universalize” their appeal.

The authors look to Greenpeace as an example of a establishing a “ growing sense of

ecological interdependence upon which to base a universal approach.” 104 This universal

approach helps to make the media sympathetic to a movement’ s cause and give them more

favourable coverage. This universality relates to framing techniques and some anti-

consumption frames include ecological interdependence. However, this interdependence is

framed as a reason to reduce consumption. For the media and the public, such a frame in

not nearly as glamorous as campaigns by Greenpeace for ending a baby seal hunt or saving

whales. This could mean that anti-consumption groups will get less favourable media

coverage, if they get any at all.

In order to get attention, the second way Carroll and Ratner believe the media’ s

asymmetrical power can be addressed is by “ staging dramatic events that command media

101 Carroll and Ratner, 3 102 Tarrow, 116 103 Deschene, interview 104 Carroll and Ratner, 31

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attention.” 105 Buy Nothing Day and its disruptive tactics are potentially one of these such

events that they media could not ignore. This does not necessarily media the media will be

sympathetic to the anti-consumer’ s cause, especially when they rely on the consumption of

their advertiser’ s products to make a profit. We have already spoke of the difficulties Kalle

Lasn has had with getting major American television networks to air his BND

‘uncommercial’ . However, it is important to remember that this refusal was used by Lasn to

get sympathetic coverage in both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal. These

articles are clear examples of the media’ s power being used by anti-consumption, thus

reducing the asymmetrical relationship. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be many

other examples of such media strategies being used by anti-consumption groups.

Considering the pro-consumption bias of the media, this will have to change if the public is

to ‘warm-up to’ the idea of anti-consumption.

To reduce the dependence social movements have on the media, Carroll and Ratner

advocate social movements making use of alternative media outlets or developing their own

media. The advantage of using one’ s own media is that it “ forms part of the cultural war of

position for groups… whose transformative political projects require a continuing program

of popular education, which cannot be mounted through the mainstream media.” 106 Though

this description by Carroll and Ratner referred to an anti-poverty social movement, it can

just as easily apply to anti-consumption. The only downside to using alternative media for

Carroll and Ratner is that it usually restricts the target population much more than more

mainstream forms. Both the educational advantages and the restricted audience can be

observed in anti-consumption group’ s own media. The Deep Ecology Movement has its

own Canadian journal, the Victoria-based “ Trumpeter” that was founded by Alan Drengson

in 1983. Similarly, when it was active 32 Hours had its thrice-annual newsletter,

“ betterTIMES.” These publications help convey information to members, yet most likely

get little attention outside their supporters. The only media that seems capable of reaching

the larger public is Adbusters magazine. Adbusters currently has a circulation base of

85,000 in sixty countries. It also boasts “ one of the most diverse readerships of any

105 Carroll and Ratner, 31 106 Ibid. 31

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publication.” 107 Though Adbusters represents Canada’ s largest magazine in foreign markets,

it can be compared to the daily circulation of the Vancouver Sun, which is presently

203,390.108 Though it may be unfair to compare a relatively new magazine with a popular

newspaper, it does show that Adbusters still has a long way to go before seriously

challenging the mainstream media.

Though anti-consumption groups use of print media may not be sufficient to educate

the public on the merits of anti-consumption, this effort is helped by their use of internet

websites. Carroll and Ratner believe the internet plays a crucial role for social movements,

The recent proliferation of the internet presents interesting possibilities for movements pursuing various political projects to circumvent dependence on mass media by developing openly accessible interaction communication networks at relatively low cost. Such a strategy not only bypasses the mass media; it converts mass audiences into more engaged communicative agents and reaches beyond the regional and national markets which typically delimit media audiences. These may be crucial preconditions for transformative politics in a globalized world109 .

Though all the anti-consumption groups make use of websites, Adbusters has the largest one

and gets up to 10,000 hits a day.110 Their website has been used to organize ‘cultural

jamming’ campaigns including Buy Nothing Day, as well as provide articles from the

magazine. Another way the Internet has supported anti-consumption ideas is through the

Independent Media Centre.(IMC) This internet-based organization makes allegiance to

anti-consumption clear on their website. They state “ We want to create a system of media

not based on the promotion of consumer goods… We want to disrupt the culture of silence

and apathy, the twin siblings of consumerism and un-representative democracy.” 111 The

IMC was born out of the WTO protest as a small group of people and a single website

looked to counterbalance the overwhelming presence of the ‘biased’ corporate media. Since

late 1999, the IMC has grown from a handful of people to seventy-eight organizations in

thirty-five countries, including centers in Vancouver and Victoria. This incredible growth

and the combination of print and electronic media show that the public has a widely

available and easily accessible anti-consumption perspective.

107 Adbusters website: www.adbusters.org 108 Vancouver Sun website: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/info/about.html 109 Carroll and Ratner, 33 110 Jules Killam, Adbusters’ computer consultant, personal interview December 13, 2001 111 Independent media website: www.indymedia.org

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3.7 Relations with Other Social Movements

Eliciting the support of other social movements presents a paradoxical challenge for a

movement hoping to broaden its support base. On the one hand, support of these

movements is absolutely crucial as it gives legitimacy, resources, and most importantly,

brings more people into the movement. On the other hand, social movements must be wary

of being co-opted into another movement’ s agenda when they seek their support. Sidney

Tarrow points to the 1968 student protests in France as a primary example of the dangers of

this co-option. The students needed the support of the workers for legitimacy and greater

force. While the two groups marched through the streets together in solidarity the

government was doing its best to divide them behind close doors. This objective was

achieved when Prime Minister Pompidou negotiated a dramatic wage increase with the

unions that broke the solidarity, thus isolating the students and sharply reducing their

leverage.112 With this paradox in mind we will review instances where anti-consumption

groups have succeeded in forming alliances, the environmental movement’ s reluctance to

align with anti-consumption, and how this might be overcome.

One of the stronger connections anti-consumption groups have made, at least in its

literature, is with the social justice movement. Alan Drengson sees a strong relationship

between social justice struggles and ecology issues since the exploitation of people parallels

the exploitation of the planet. Arne Naess articulates this interconnection differently as he

sees an increase in levels of social justice as a necessary condition to avoid ‘dangerous

intensities’ of moral resentment in “ the great future effort to reduce per capita

degradation… and changes in life habits.” 113 Although this connection with social justice is

readily apparent in the literature – and Adbusters is no exception – in practice this is not

always the case. The barrier is that social justice often focuses on improving the lives of

low income persons. Anders Hayden found this group to be the most concerned about

potential of lost jobs and income that are so often connected with anti-consumption, since it

would affect them the greatest. To strengthen its connection with social justice, anti-

112 Tarrow, 171 113 Naess, 75

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consumption should do a better job of highlighting the fact that more egalitarian levels of

consumption are desired before any thought of an absolute reduction in all social groups.

The peace movement has been one of the closest allies with anti-consumption both

in literature and practice. Back in the 1970s, Arne Naess connected Deep Ecology with the

peace movement through their shared opposition to nuclear war. Naess has gone on to

articulate arguments for unilateral disarmament and establishing nonviolent defense within

NATO.114 The recent War on Terrorism has given peace and anti-consumption movements

a new reason to unite, which they did in last November’ s Buy Nothing Day. In both

Calgary and Alaska peace marchers demonstrated in department stores in an attempt to

break the ‘patriotism equals spending’ mindset. Kalle Lasn was delighted in this “ great act

of symbolism” that shows that groups are beginning to see the role of consumerism as a root

cause of other problems. This connection is underscored when the First World consumers

“ eighty-three-percent of the world’ s resources.” 115 It appears that the alliances with the

peace movement will remain beneficial to both parties as their shared agenda provides little

opportunity for co-option of one by the other. The only thing that could possibly break this

alliance would be an end to the war itself. This does not appear to be on the horizon

anytime soon if the predictions of Canadian, British, and American administrations are

accurate.

Mainstream environmental groups, surprisingly, have been most wary of the idea of

anti-consumption. In promoting Work Time Reduction, Anders Hayden found that although

environmentalists on an individual level were often in favour of his ideas, organizations

(including the Green Party) were not. This trend was echoed in a study conducted on

November 23, 2001, which surveyed fifteen key environmental organizations in British

Columbia as to their participation in Buy Nothing Day activities occurring that day. Four

of these surveys were conducted in person, another five took place over the phone, and the

remaining six were done via email. Survey respondents were asked three questions: is your

organization participating in Buy Nothing Day? How or why not? Are you or others in your

114 Naess, 160 115 Lasn, interview November 30, 2001

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organization personally choosing not to buy anything today? The results can be seen in the

table below:

Table 1: Survey Results of Environmental Groups and Buy Nothing Day

Organization Participation? How/Why not? Personal? British Columbia Environmental Network Yes Events calendar No Carmanah Forestry Society No Not interested No Citizens Association to Save the Environment No Forgot No Destination Conservation BC No No resources Yes Gaia Project No Not specific area Yes GVRD Waste Reduction Forum No Misses the point No Greater Victoria Ecology Network No Too busy/not specific area Yes Green Party – BC No Too busy/misses the point Yes Greenpeace – BC No Not specific area Yes Greenpeace – Canada No Not specific area Yes Pitch-In BC No Not aware No Sierra Club – BC No Too busy/not specific area Yes Society Promoting Environmental Conservation Yes Let members know via email Yes VIPIRG Yes Put up posters Yes Western Canada Wilderness Committee No Not specific area Yes

In interpreting the results of this survey, an initial observation is the level of

awareness among environmental groups about Buy Nothing Day, as only two out of the

fifteen groups surveyed were unaware of it. Secondly, two-thirds of the organizations had

individuals participating in BND. Thus the central question is with such high rates of

individual participation, why were organizations not participating as well? For sixty-percent

of these organizations, especially the larger ones, they simply felt that they were too busy

with their own campaigns to involve themselves in an issue that “ doesn’ t fall within the

framework of our specific issues.” 116 Greenpeace presents an interesting case study of this

relationship. The BC chapter felt too constrained to partake in BND, but was assured that

with more resources the Greenpeace Canada would be involved. This turned out to not be

the case, as a media liaison for Greenpeace Canada felt that anti-consumption was not

related to their central campaigns of forestry, climate change, and genetically modified

organisms (GMOs). Upon further questioning it was accepted that a connection did exist

between the consumption of GMOs, forest products, and fossil fuels with the problems

Greenpeace was campaigning against. However, in terms of supporting a twenty-four-hour

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moratorium on such consumption, it was admitted, “ we don’ t like to talk about

consumption.” 117 One can only wonder if this reasoning is specific to Greenpeace Canada or

is indicative of other environmental organizations that felt BND was not part of their

specific area.

After being made aware of this survey’ s findings, Kalle Lasn expressed both surprise

and dismay at the poor organizational support of his Buy Nothing Day campaign. In terms

of the higher levels of personal support, Lasn recognized this as reflecting the fact that most

of the 1 million BND supporters are “ greenies.” Yet the inability to turn this personal

support into even minimal organizational activity such as notifying members was deemed

“ inexcusable.” 118 In considering reasons for why eco-groups might not support BND, Lasn

cited the “ tight competition” environmental groups are in with each other for members,

resources, and the public spotlight. “ Environmental groups don’ t like curveballs,” states

Lasn, “ they carve out their niche and never stray far from it.” Thus environmental groups

have the perception that if they support an anti-consumption platform they are less likely to

attract large sums of resources and the public’ s attention. This reasoning can also been seen

in the experience of Anders Hayden with WTR and eco-groups, as he quickly learned, “ If

you push the anti-consumption angle, questions arise about the nature of capitalism and you

lose the ‘middle of the road’ folks you need to get a majority and anything done.” 119 These

examples present a crucial question for the future of an anti-consumption movement, if it

means co-option or ‘dumbing down’ some of the more controversial anti-consumption

rhetoric, is it still worthwhile to form an alliance with mainstream environmentalism?

Arne Naess weighs in on the above question but stating that such an alliance is not

necessary,

It is clear, however, that many nature magazines and associations should be kept largely free of political and moral propaganda… membership tends to fall unduly if a stern political line is enforced … (Therefore) Some then concentrate essentially upon increasing awareness… while others choose to work for direct changes of

116 Mary, Greenpeace BC employee, personal interview November 23, 2001. 117 Shelley Thompson, Media Liaison, Greenpeace Canada. Personal Interview November 23, 2001 118 The following quotations are all taken from a personal interview (via telephone) on November 30, 2001 119 Hayden, interview

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social and economic conditions… Devaluation of each others efforts within the total movement is an evil which must be avoided at all costs. No sectarianism! 120

The solution is not for anti-consumption to try to take over environmentalism, but for the

two groups to work together and respect each other’ s objectives. It is unclear whether

valuing each other’ s efforts would include support for Buy Nothing Day. Kalle Lasn is

determined to not leave that to chance. Motivated by its alliance with the peace movement

and the high levels of individual support in environmental organizations, Adbusters has

already decided to go after environmental groups for their organizational support for BND

2002. As they state in the March/April 2002 issue, “ We’ ll be asking eco-groups to summon

a little royal jelly and ‘participate by not participating.’ With vocal support from the greens,

BND really could become and eco-holiday sans frontieres.” 121

Taking everything into account, Adbusters’ strategy to go after environmental

groups seems like a win-win situation. If the eco-groups agree, more people participate in

the anti-consumption event of the year. If they resist, Adbusters will undoubtedly use its

leverage to question whatever legitimacy they may have in both the public’ s eyes and push

the BND supporters within these organizations to begin what Lasn calls “ inner

campaigning.” With these aggressive tactics, along with some outreach from spiritual

groups, it seems unlikely that anti-consumption is in danger of being co-opted any time

soon.

3.8 Conclusion

In considering Tarrow’ s perspective, it seems that anti-consumption groups are reasonably

well placed to broaden their support base and form a social movement. The groups

recognize and attempt to capitalize on emotional outpourings from trigger events. They use

a variety of framing techniques, some with more success than others. Similarly, a variety of

collective action tactics are used to convey the idea of anti-consumption, either through

public outreach, advocacy, or disruptive actions. In an effort to get this message out,

120 Naess, 91 (emphasis in the original) 121 Adbusters, March/April 2002

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alliances have been formed with others social movements and steps are being taken to

strengthen connections with social sectors, notably environmentalism.

Yet despite the favourable positioning anti-consumption groups are in, considerable

obstacles still remain in place. It may seem too simplistic to say that it all comes down to

money, but as we have seen in the case of 32 Hours, resources are the sine quo non. The

development of a social movement is often a long and arduous process. Yet by

acknowledging what they are doing well and seeing the areas they need to improve, Sidney

Tarrow’ s analysis may well give anti-consumption groups a push in the right direction.

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Conclusion

After reviewing the barriers to the conditions under which an anti-consumption movement

can develop in Canada, I believe the idea is going to be a very difficult sell. History has

shown us that this is not a concept that people grasp right away. In fact, most people seem

rather hostile to it. This should come as no surprise considering the barrage of consuming

messages that we are subjected to daily. However, I also believe that once people

understand what is meant by anti-consumption, a number of desirable possibilities open up

to them. These include more free time by working less, developing a deeper identification

with the natural environment, and cleansing ourselves from the unsatisfactory pursuit of

manufactured desires. It is in these benefits, as well as the hope for a healthy planet, that

anti-consumers have a real prospect to form a social movement. The question is, how do

you get people to understand the problems of consumption and the alternatives that exist

when you only get in their face and confront them one day per year? Furthermore, if by

chance they are receptive, how do you get them to observe it the other 364 days?

To answer these questions I believe anti-consumption groups will have to start by

strengthening their alliances with each other. Prior to this thesis, the connection between

Buy Nothing Day and Deep Ecology was not formally recognized by either party. Nor had

they heard of 32 Hours or knew that Canada once had a work-time reduction movement.

Thus no one discussed working less during their disruptive tactics for Buy Nothing Day.

Similarly, while trying to get people to reduce their workweek, Anders Hayden did not tell

them what an ecostery is anymore than ecoforesters reminded people to read Adbusters

during their workshops. The task of turning people on to anti-consumption is simply far too

daunting for any one of these groups to attempt it alone. Social value shifts do not happen

everyday. For them to occur people have to be frequently reminded of a problem that exists

and the solution to it. The greater variety of ways that anti-consumption can present this

and the more acknowledgment of each other’ s efforts, the greater likelihood that people will

begin to embrace it. As they embrace it, they tell others about it and a movement begins to

gain momentum. A network of likeminded persons can emerge that is capable of

broadening its base and challenging those who promote irresponsible consumption. Along

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the way they will face the many challenges of social movement formation including

responding to trigger events, framing, resources, broadening collective actions, media

hostility, and co-operating with other social movement. It will not be easy but if anti-

consumption groups can stick together and address the barriers highlighted in this thesis, I

like their chances of forming a very influential and very needed social movement.

51

Works Cited Articles and Books

Adbusters’ Staff. “ BND Update” in Adbusters vol.10 no. 2, March/April 2002 Carroll, William K. and Ratner, R.S. “ Media Strategies and Political Projects: A

Comparative Study of Social Movements” in The Canadian Journal Of Sociology 24(1) 1999,

de Graff, John. et al . Affluenza (San Francisco: Berret-Koehler) 2001 Devall, Bill and Sessions, George. Deep Ecology: Living as if Nature Mattered (Utah:

Gibbs Smith) 1985 Drengson, Alan and Inoue, Yuichi (eds.) The Deep Ecology Movement: An Introductory

Anthology (Berkley: North Atlantic Books) 1995 Franklin, Ursula et al, Towards a Conserver Society: A Statement of Concern (Ottawa:

Science Council Committee on “ Implications of a Conserver Society” ) 1976 Hayden, Anders. Sharing the Work, Sparing the Planet (Toronto: Between the Lines)

1999 Lasn, Kalle. Culture Jam (New York: Quill) 2000 McCarthy, John D. and Zald, Mayer N. (eds.) Social Movements in an Organizational

Society (Somerset, NJ: Transaction Books) 1987 Meadows, Donella H. et al. The Limits to Growth 2nd edition (New York: Universe

Books) 1974 Naess, Arne. Ecology, community and lifestyle translated and edited by David

Rothenberg (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) 1989 Olson, Mancur The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups

(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) 1971 Shapiro, Stanley J. “ Canada’ s Conserver Society Studies: Their Intellectual and Social

Impact” paper presented to the American Marketing Association 1979 Snow, David A. and Beadford, Robert D. “ Ideology, Frame Resonance, and Participant

Mobilization” in Klandermas, Kriesi and Tarrow, eds. International Social Movement Research: From Structure to Action Vol. 1 (Greenwich, Conn: JAI Press) 1988

52

Stone, Deborah. Policy Paradox: The Art of Political Decision Making (New York: W.W. Norton) 1997

Tarrow, Sidney. Power In Movement: Social Movements and Contentious Politics 2nd

edition (New York: Cambridge University Press) 1998 Valaskakis, Kimon et al. The Conserver Society: a workable alternative for the future

(New York: Harper & Row) 1979 Winstanley, Gil. The Limits to Growth: A Review of World Reaction (Ottawa: Office of

the Science Advisor, Environment Canada) 1975 World Commission on Environment and Development. Our Common Future (New

York: Oxford University Press) 1987 Personal Interviews

Deschene, Paul. December 13, 2001

Drengson, Alan. (ES 300A class lecture) October 17, 2001.

------- January 14, 2002.

Hayden, Anders. (via telephone) March 4, 2002.

Lasn, Kalle. (via telephone) November 30, 2001

---------, December 13, 2001.

Killam, Jules. December 13, 2001

Mary at Greenpeace BC, (via telephone) November 23, 2001.

Thompson, Shelley. (via telephone) November 23, 2001

Websites

32 Hours: www.web.net/32hours

Adbusters: www.Adbusters.org

The Center for the New American Dream: www.newdream.org

The Ecostery Foundation of North America: ecostery.org

Independent Media Centre: www.indymedia.org

Redefining Progress: rprogress.org

The University of Victoria Eco-Research Chair: www.environmentalindicators.com

The Vancouver Sun: http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/info/about.html