Less is More

That seems rational, no?

There certainly are trends out there that run counter to the bigger is better and more is always preferable to less philosophy (another example is this not-so-big house architectural movement). In light of all this, I think the key question is will we change our behavior in time before we bury ourselves in widgets and do-hickies?

The economist in me screams "yes". In my little theoretical world we are all just happiness maximizers and we are also capable of looking into the future. We SHOULD be able to avoid the grim future predicted by Disney & Pixar's Wall-e (boy, that movie was a tough one to sell through merchandizing). But then again, we live in a world were someone can make lots of money as an expert on clutter--just look at this Peter Walsh guy on Oprah.

What will provide the best incentive for more efficient consumption? Will it take something drastic and catastrophic to change our behavior or will we be forward looking enough to change on our own and avoid disaster? And can we really ever be efficient consumers if we are always bombarded with advertisments?

Well, I think we are capable of change and avoiding catastrophe (see Malthus). After all, having less stuff is cheaper and certainly very freeing. The whole green movement is certainly taking shape rather quickly (I have never seen so many compact florescent lights at Lowes). However, a little nudge from big brother doesn't hurt. Let's keep that tax incentive for hybrid cars, shall we?