Comments on: 6 minutes with Sir John Whitmore http://renegadeeconomist.com/headline/6-minutes-sir-john-whitmore.html Just another WordPress weblog Wed, 24 Feb 2010 02:19:57 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Jeremy Edwards http://renegadeeconomist.com/headline/6-minutes-sir-john-whitmore.html/comment-page-1#comment-688 Jeremy Edwards Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:13:42 +0000 http://renegadeeconomist.com/?p=620#comment-688 I really ought to visit this site more often. I have to agree with Sir John - we need to move away from consumerism as the key driver for the economy. The current driver of planned obsolesence is wasteful and completely unsustainable. The economy as it stands is struggling with the current developed world, how on earth will it cope with raising standards of living for the remaining population of the world? For us in the west, energy useage and waste must be the cornerstones of any change. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle beomes key here, BUT all traditional mass manuafcturing becomes as useful as a peashooter in a nuclear weapons strike. How do we handle the economic chaos that results? I have a 20 year old Land Rover and a 38 year old Morgan - I won't buy another new car ever, what use is one? I buy consumer durables on the basis that they are repairable; Dualit toaster, Gaggia coffee machine, old Apple computers and I am delighted to find both official and unofficial parts and service data available. There is a sub-culture for the less material consumerist! I really ought to visit this site more often. I have to agree with Sir John – we need to move away from consumerism as the key driver for the economy. The current driver of planned obsolesence is wasteful and completely unsustainable. The economy as it stands is struggling with the current developed world, how on earth will it cope with raising standards of living for the remaining population of the world?

For us in the west, energy useage and waste must be the cornerstones of any change. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle beomes key here, BUT all traditional mass manuafcturing becomes as useful as a peashooter in a nuclear weapons strike. How do we handle the economic chaos that results?

I have a 20 year old Land Rover and a 38 year old Morgan – I won’t buy another new car ever, what use is one? I buy consumer durables on the basis that they are repairable; Dualit toaster, Gaggia coffee machine, old Apple computers and I am delighted to find both official and unofficial parts and service data available. There is a sub-culture for the less material consumerist!

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