10.22.07

The Cake is a Lie

Posted in Reflections at 11:18

My roommates are into computer games. The phrase “the cake is a lie” has been borrowed from one of their games and used as an inside joke of sorts in our apartment.

The other day I was thinking. <insert standard joke here> It is reasonably obvious that the middle class American lifestyle is dependent on the poverty of the “third world” in numerous ways. Yet we westerners have this funny notion of ending world poverty. I think that’s an admirable goal. The problem (or one of an endless slew of problems) is, even if we can scrape together enough cash to develop the economies of every nation on earth to a point where most people live like western middle class folks (most, mind you–there would still be some very wealthy in every nation, and some poor, but it would be a much less cruel poverty.) Even if we could do that, doing so would destroy the planet. Whether or not you believe in global warming, think about this: if 6.6 billion people ate meat every day, how many cows would have to be raised to feed them? How many acres, how much feed grain and water would those cows use? How many more cows would we have to have on top of that to give 6.6 billion people the milk and dairy products they need? How many sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, rabbits… How many acres of rice, wheat, corn, barley, oats, etc.? How many pounds of fresh produce? How much water would it take to grow all that? How much water would it take to complete their showers, flush their toilets? How much gas would it take to fuel their cars, boats, trucks, planes… How much steel, concrete,wood, copper, aluminum, plastic and glass would it take to build their homes and package their food? How much more garbage and waste water and smoke would be generated by their consumption? How much more electricity would be needed to charge their cell phones and iPods, run their computers and light their houses? I haven’t even scratched the surface.

The point is, in order to bring any semblance of equality to standards of living around the world, simply raising standards for the poor is not enough. We need to lower our own standards of living. Maybe our wealth isn’t helping us anyway. Maybe constant stimulation and entertainment is only burying an underlying discontent that’s gnawing at our souls. What is needed is an approach of simplicity and efficiency that addresses rather than medicates its pain. It’s possible to have less and be happier. Less is more. The cake is a lie.

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