I've come across a lot of material lately that discusses the ideas of anti-consumerism. Whether the motives are to leave less of a carbon footprint, be thrifty, or fight the establishment, the premise of consuming less is valid. I can't speak on behalf of the American population, but I know that I'll continue to take steps to consume less while being more mindful of the things I do consume.
The other side of the coin is production. There is the argument that if I'm not consuming, than I'm producing, and if I'm not producing, I'm consuming. So the logical step would be to increase my production due to the decrease of my consumption.
Now if we look at it from a completely zero-sum/equilibrium perspective, producers are needed relative to consumers. Thus, production meets demands of consumption. If consumption lowers, production must lower.
Lastly, I accept the fact that I can't completely remove myself from consumption, since I have to consume at least minimally for survival (food, oxygen, energy, etc.) in order to produce.
So with all these thoughts in mind, I believe that as I consume minimally and mindfully, I shall produce things of true value mindfully. In another light, we produce things of little value, and we consume those things of little value to justify the production.
I understand that this sounds idealistic, so I'll be realistic. There will always be things that I will consume that have little value (beer), but the key is to minimize the amount/frequency (once or twice a month). I think this is where mindfulness comes into play. Being aware of what you're consuming and knowing why you're consuming are probably the best examples of how you can bring control back to your life.
Producing mindfully thus becomes a game of finding and creating things of value for yourself and others. I can share information (the idea of educating the masses), create a system/lifestyle that is self-sustaining (produce as much or slightly more than they consume), etc.
I guess all of this is just an ambitious ramble, but ultimately the goal is to leave the world a little better than when I came into it.
