Economic Sustainability in Light of Consumer Behaviour: Gandhian Perspectives

Abstract

Human species is at crossroads. Since the era of industrialisation, rate of growth of economy has recorded rapid rise, especially since the later half of the twentieth century. In recent past, it is increasingly being realised that path that human kind has taken may not be sustainable.

In Western thought, sustainability debate is around economic sustainability. Sustainability argument has two sides: production and consumption. The latter is hardly addressed in Western thought. Neoclassical economics emphasises mainly on technological solutions to sustainability. The present lifestyle relies on exploitation of natural resources.

‘How much should we consume?’ ‘What strategies for changing consumer behaviour actually work?’ These are some questions that human society has now started asking. It is necessary to visit alternative paradigms. Gandhian economic thought is one such paradigm. The paper is divided into three sections. First section briefly explains contemporary scenario, and it is argued that perpetual growth of economy and hence consumption is a myth. The second section contains review of Gandhian vision with special reference to materialism as portrayed in Hind Swaraj. In the third section, we propose to review concept of sustainable consumption in light of Gandhian thought.