Connections between hyper-consumption and narcissism have been rarely reported. Slate had a [nice piece](http://www.slate.com/id/2213740/pagenum/all/#p2) today tying this personality disorder to much of our recent troubles. Here’s the lede: > The narcissists did it. Some commentators are fingering them as the culprits of the financial meltdown. A Bloomberg columnist [blamed](http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=a_ac69DqFutQ) the conceited for our financial troubles in a piece titled “Harvard Narcissists With MBAs Killed Wall Street.” A Wall Street Journal [op-ed](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123517419077037281.html) on California’s economy suggested that Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desire for voter’s love (“It’s classic narcissism”) helped cause the state’s budget debacle. A forthcoming book, [The Narcissism Epidemic](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416575987?ie=UTF8&tag=slatmaga-20&link_code=as3&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1416575987), says we went… Read More
Continue ReadingMyopia or Hyperopia?
David Brooks wrote his [NYTimes column](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/20/opinion/20brooks.html?_r=1&ref=opinion) today under the headline, Perverse Cosmic Myopia. He was criticizing world leaders for neglecting to agree on effective immediate actions to cope with the global financial crisis while focusing on future systemic remedies > You’d think if some tiger were lunging at your neck, your attention would be riveted on the tiger. But that’s apparently not how it works in the age of global A.D.D. As a tiger sinks its teeth into the world’s neck, we focus on the dust bunnies under the bed and the floorboards that need replacing on the deck. We… Read More
Continue ReadingNo More Waiting for a Hybrid
Everything wasn’t green on St. Patrick’s Day, when The LA Times printed a long article articulating the rapid fall from grace of hybrid vehicles. It seems that their draw was more connected to the price of gasoline than to the buyer’s environmental values. > In July, U.S. Toyota dealers didn’t have enough Prius models in stock to last two days, and many were charging thousands of dollars above sticker price for the few they had. . . Today there are about 80 days’ worth on hand, and dealers are working much harder — even with the help of $500 factory… Read More
Continue ReadingGone Skiing
I am away for a few days skiing with a gaggle of grandchildren.
Continue ReadingCategory Errors and Sustainability
E. J. Dionne, [blogging for the Washington Post](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031103357.html) takes the President to task for using pragmatism as a shield against any claim that he is resting on some ideological pillow. > President Obama regularly speaks disdainfully of “ideology,” says he is focused only on “what works” and loves to be described as “pragmatic.” > > Well, sure. No one ever admits to being an ideologue, and as historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr. observed many years ago, democratic government should be about “the search for remedy.” > > But there comes a time when first principles need to be articulated. The economic… Read More
Continue ReadingGreenspan Continues . . .
Speaking at a Congressional hearing, Alan Greenspan has already [recanted](http://www.johnehrenfeld.com/2009/03/oops.html#comments) his formerly unassailable wisdom as Fed Chairman. Now he continues his apology, although this time in a much less personal [op-ed in the WSJ](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123672965066989281.html). Here are a few excepts. Global market competition and integration in goods, services and finance have brought unprecedented gains in material well being. But the growth path of highly competitive markets is cyclical. And on rare occasions it can break down, with consequences such as those we are currently experiencing. It is now very clear that the levels of complexity to which market practitioners at the… Read More
Continue ReadingThis IS a Test!
Tom Friedman’s NYTimes column today had the headline, “This is Not a Test.” I know he was using the word in an ironic sense, but I think he is dangerously wrong. This–what is happening out there in the world–is indeed a test. We are all being tested to see how we react to a series of threats. We, that is, each of us as an individual and all of us as a collective society, have been living in a bubble. Not just a dot.com or housing bubble, but a cultural bubble, ignoring indisputable evidence of present and impending breakdowns and… Read More
Continue ReadingWelcome Back “Science”
Science has returned to Presidential politics. President Obama has issued a directive on scientific integrity, effectively telling all agencies to stop playing fast and loose with scientific findings. The order is short and sweet, and restores scientific knowledge to its important place in informing decisions where such knowledge has significant probative weight. > Science and the scientific process must inform and guide decisions of my Administration on a wide range of issues, including improvement of public health, protection of the environment, increased efficiency in the use of energy and other resources, mitigation of the threat of climate change, and protection… Read More
Continue ReadingConspicuous Consumption Under Stress
There is no question that consumption will decrease during this period of financial distress. Any recession is defined by a decrease in GDP, which is a measure of consumption [and the production of the goods and services we consume]. Given the current numbers, consumption has already decreased over the past few months. From the perspective of sustainability, the question is whether the quantitative reduction will be accompanied by a change in the nature of the “needs” that economists and psychologists argue drive consumption choices. If the reduction is only the result of having less money, then there is a reasonable… Read More
Continue ReadingA Bum Rap
I take green issues very seriously, but occasionally I cannot help but seeing some humor out there. I know we should be looking everywhere for ways to lessen the impact of our mindless consumption. But I can’t help myself from breaking into the tiniest of a grin about this serious piece. The headline tells enough, “America’s Love Affair with Really Soft Toilet Paper Is Causing an Environmental Catastrophe.” Here’s the gist. > Americans have been long chastised for our environmental footprints (and for good reason). But the latest report from environmental groups including Greenpeace should give us major reason to… Read More
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