Takeaways from Man the Hunter Chapter 4 and "The Original Affluent Society"

I found that Man the Hunter Chapter 4 and "The Original Affluent Society" complemented each other and helped me gain a better understanding of both pieces of literature and western economics. The !Kung hunter-gatherer lifestyle is much less stressful than western society often portrays these more "primitive" societies. Their abundance mindset is opposite to the capitalist scarcity mindset. This scarcity mindset and consumerism culture creates stress and competition, and ultimately leaves the consumers unsatisfied and empty. While I don't go shopping for clothes very much, I, like many Americans, have a lot of clothing. Probably about a quarter of the clothing I have is barely ever worn. The consumption of clothes is a great example of the western mindset by being constantly purchased by consumers and being wasted by corporations to create a false sense of scarcity and other strange business practices. This is opposite to the zen road to affluence, which is being satisfied with needing and wanting little. I can try to apply this to my life through changing my mindset to an abundance mindset.

Reflecting on Enskillment Lesson 1

I've actually been considering getting into gardening for some time now. I saw some videos online of people growing their own food and saving some money as well as eating healthier, which would definitely be helpful and cut back on waste. However, my backyard is very small so I'm not sure how I'd set up a successful garden. I'd like to have a lot more room to try making a large garden, but I think I'll have to get my own house with a large yard for that. Enskillment Lesson 1 made me reflect on how often I've been getting takeout because of time constraints recently. I was cooking at home a lot last year, which was saving me money but was quite time consuming. I stopped when the semester began to keep up with college and health issues, which has made daily life a little easier for me but has caused a lot more plastic and paper waste to go through my house. Gardening alongside home cooking would save a lot of money and be healthier than getting takeout every night. However, like we discussed in the degrowth brainstorming discussion, these environmentally and personally healthier alternatives are time consuming and difficult to fit into our lives.

Takeaways from Degrowth Brainstorming Class Discussion

The class discussion on degrowth brainstorming led me to reflect on my daily habits and gave me ideas on how to change them. In the discussion, we mentioned that time allocation was an important factor in implementing these ideas. For many people, including me, activities such as home cooking and walking/biking are very difficult to implement into daily life due to time constraints. For example, I use my car to get to college and other places throughout the week. Walking, biking, and taking public transportation is much less time efficient and more difficult due to the car focused layout of Fredericksburg and many other American cities. Considering this, a car will have to be my main mode of transportation, at least while in college. However, now I am considering getting either a hybrid or electric car in the future to cut back on emissions as well as save money on gas.

Reflecting on Degrowth Exercises 1 & 2

Exercise 1 made me realize how little I knew of my family and heritage. I couldn't even find an heirloom or symbolic object that I could connect to family. All I really know is that they were from Europe. My family members that are still alive don't know much about our history, so I'm going to have to find another way to learn more about my heritage. This exercise did make me curious about my family history and has made me consider getting one of those DNA tests to learn more about them. While making the identity map for Exercise 2, I did see the privileges of a lot of parts of my identity and the potential to use that privilege for change. However, I struggle to take advantage of these due to the difficulties I have with my disability and uncertainty with other parts of my identity, such as religion. I'm still trying to find, or rather, make, parts of my identity.

Reflecting on Bag It

The film Bag It brought up the idea of reusing plastics instead of disposing of them. Similar to some of the people in the film, my dad actually saves a lot of plastic bags and other plastic and cardboard things to be reused. Before I watched the film I was just annoyed with it, but now I see the value in saving them. Although, we definitely don't need as much as we have at my house. After watching the film and thinking about how I could cut back on plastic and reuse more, I found that there are a bunch of reusable non-plastic bags stored around my house that I can use whenever I go to stores (if I remember to bring them). I also found a reusable straw. I think its made of hard plastic, which is a better use of it. As the film points out, plastic is a durable and long lasting material, so it would be much more efficient and environmentally friendly if used to create reusable and durable goods, like the reusable straw.