Ezgi Özgün

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Section 71

Prompt: What does Russell argue about production/consumption in his essay “In Praise of

Idleness”? To what extent is Russell’s opinion about production/consumption still valid

today? How do you think his opinion about this issue will change in the future?

An Unfavorable Change

Bertrand Russel was a well-known British philosopher, mathematician, political

activist and writer. In his work ‘‘In Praise of Idleness'', Russell (1932) argues that the amount

of importance given to the production of goods in the world also has to be given to the

consumption so that there could be a balance between them. He criticizes people who only

attach value to production and no value to consumption. However, today this situation

happens to be the exact opposite. People have started producing to consume without

considering the threats that it poses both to society and earth's nature. The world will face

further complications in the future due to the issue of over-consumption. As a way out, people

must get used to the idea of minimalist living. In this essay, it will be discussed that in

contradistinction to what Russel argues, how and why the main problem in today's world is

the blind impulse of consumption that has started to push people's desires into spend and

waste more. Furthermore, it will be outlined that how this issue is going to cause some

foreseeable future problems that will challenge both society and nature.
 When looked at modern history, it is quite hard to find a certain period of time in

which a country's production level is parallel with their consumption level. Russel (1932)

states that there should be a stability between these two acts in terms of balance. He also

argues that it is pointless for a person to always saving without spending anything since the

whole phenomena of producing exist so that people can consume. In his work ‘In Praise of

Idleness' he complains about the amount of production being more than consumption.

Considering the date of his statement, Russel is right about his claim. With the Industrial

Revolution lowering the price of manufacturing, the problem of excessive-production has

inaugurated and expanded. When the low-cost production was considered, producers did not

hesitate to invest in dangerous businesses. Therefore, the problem of surplus goods based on

over-production has started and continued until recently. However, with the emergence of late

capitalism things have changed. In their research, two Ukrainian sociologists, Anastasiya

Ryabchuk and Natalia Onyshchenko (2012) state that on the contrary to production, which is

rather inactive these days, the amount of consumption is rising at a sharp level. A further

explanation of their point is that modern capitalist economy's strategies are now focused on

manipulating people to purchase goods that are not even near to be a necessity for a human.

People tend to feel a compulsion to buy things that they do not actually need when the things

are on discount. The act of extravagance is now the basic practice of modern times. In his

book, a professor at George Mason University notes, “All of us know people who “have to

have” some item that, objectively, they do not need at all. All of us know people who find

emotional solace and personal expression in shopping.” (Stearns, 2006, p. 11) Modern

capitalist society is full of people who are getting lost in the notion of senseless acquiring.

The growing trend of excessive consumption under a capitalist order will both

have some communal consequences and bring about various natural catastrophic events.

World's reserves become liable to drain more rapidly as a consequence of increasing

consumption rates. The ultimate problematic behavior in today's people is that they use up

and throw away things uncaringly without giving any chance to recycling and repairing.

Robert Reich (as cited in Wilby, 2008) states that when not controlled, capitalism not only

causes immense waste but also brings about issues such as injustice, occupation instability

and it causes harm to the sense of community. As predicted before by futurists, humankind is

slowly turning into a wasteful creature that considers every commodity as disposable. The

society's attitude that Reich mentions has to go under a radical transformation if people want

to put a stop to this dangerous trend. People have to become aware of the fact that there is a

bizarre amount of difference between the rate of consumption and the basic needs of human

beings. The resolution to this essential problem merely lies down under realization of the

notion that less is not always bad. Getting over the addiction of over-consumption and start

living in a minimalist way will be a quite challenging path for humankind since it is not a

desired act to give up all the ease that modern world has provided. Nevertheless, this is a

responsibility that has to be taken by all people in order for them to see a clearer future. Just

like a French philosopher once stated in his book that it is indeed problematical for a society

to maintain and take in the surprises of modern civilization. The inconsistency is in trying to

be both up-to-date and to restore the resources; as well as trying to change a timeworn,

inactive nation and to become involved in a collective civilization (Ricoeur, 1965). No matter

how challenging it is, maintaining a state of equilibrium has to be one of the main purposes of

people. Given this long-standing but still valid notion, one can conclude that just like Russell

argues, the balance between being modern and being a harmless and conscious citizen is as

important as maintaining the balance between production and consumption rates.

In conclusion, as the time gone by, the problem of over-production has

transformed into the problem of over-consumption. As a result, one way or another today’s
shopping spree is going to cause a lot of problems to world in general. Therefore, a major step

has to be taken in order to preserve both society’s values and earth’s resources.

References

Ricoeur, P. (1965). History and truth. Northwestern University Press. Retrieved from

https://books.google.com.ua/books?hl=en&lr=&id=6vU6gvDqZLoC&oi=fnd&pg

=PA3&dq=Ricoeur,+P.+(1965).+History+and+truth.+Northwestern+University+

Press.&ots=IfsVZ3ZyZH&sig=zDwwSpDrX2EcLXUTGVp9dGkd6CA&redir_es

c=y#v=onepage&q&f=false.

Russell, B. (1932, October). “In Praise of Idleness”. Harper’s Magazine, 552-559. Retrieved

from https://harpers.org/archive/1932/10/in-praise-of-idleness/

Ryabchuk, A., & Onyshchenko, N. (2012). From Communism to Capitalism, from Production

to Consumption. Radical History Review, (114), 29. Retrieved from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.library.metu.edu.tr/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&

db=edb&AN=80160808&site=eds-live

Stearns, P. N. (2006). Consumerism in world history: The global transformation of desire.

Routledge. Retrieved from

https://books.google.nl/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=3919AgAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PP1

&ots=a7Jzmfm9Ih&sig=1CGWwtGLD8Du23osnHVykksA0R8#v=onepage&q&f

=false

Wilby, P. (2008). Why capitalism creates a throwaway society. New Statesman, 137(4912),

12. Retrieved from http://0-

search.ebscohost.com.library.metu.edu.tr/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&

db=bth&AN=34049800&site=eds-live