Supercapitalism on NPR

There was an interesting interview on NPR’s Fresh Air today. Robert Reich, former secretary of labor in the Clinton administration (he now teaches public policy at the University of California at Berkeley) talked about his new book, Supercapitalism and the “divided mind of the consumer and citizen”. We want the best deals at the store, the best returns in the stock market – yet also we want better wages and benefits for employees, we dislike outsourcing, etc. Our choices as investors and consumers are at odds with our values as citizens.

I listened to part of this broadcast after leaving Target. I glanced over at the plastic bag next to me, which held some tshirts for my son made in the Philippines out of 100% conventional cotton and a plastic bottle of water that I grabbed on impulse in an attempt to battle the heat of the afternoon.

There was no connection between my citizen values and those purchases. In fact, I hadn’t really thought about it at all. I was in a hurry, squeezing in an errand between two appointments and my mind was on expediency, schedules and tasks…not the environment, fair wages or pesticide use. I’ll recycle the bottle and the plastic bag, but I could have done so much better by being conscious of my actions during that trip. I forgot about the tote bag in the back of my car that I carry to keep from using excess plastic bags. I didn’t plan ahead to try to find organic cotton tshirts (they might not even exist in the size or type I needed, but I never checked).

This, I suppose, is why I’m green around the edges instead of just being green.

To listen to the interview:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14321590