Yesterday we listened to a short interview with Andrew Potter, author of the book The Authenticity Hoax, and it really peaked our interest. The book (which we haven't read yet) addresses the concept of "competitive anti-consumption" wherein people make a big show of eschewing modern conveniences to show they have a simpler and more "authentic" life. Whether it's a push for local food, getting rid of your car, or installing low-flow toilets, Potter makes the claim that these practices have less to do with saving the environment or pursuing a healthy lifestyle than with achieving a certain self-image, or status.
According to this review in the Wall Street Journal:
Authenticity, Mr. Potter writes, is "a positional good, which is valuable precisely because not everyone can have it." By competing against one another to see who is more authentic, he says, we just become bigger phonies than we were before. The local-food trend illustrates what Mr. Potter calls "conspicuous authenticity," by which the well-heeled embark on a "perpetual coolhunt," whether it is for authentic jeans, pristine vacation spots or mud flooring, part of the "natural building" movement. The overarching goal is less to possess the thing itself than to make a claim to refined taste and moral superiority.
We have to say that we get where he's coming from. What do we expect (or hope) people will think of us when we tell them we don't use a hair dryer, or that we live in a zero-energy house, or that we're taking a vacation to a working farm? If we're honest, we probably hope that it makes an impression, that the person we're talking to thinks better of us and of our willpower and self-sacrifice. There is an allure to being "other," but it can easily turn into judgment and self-righteousness, particularly on blogs where your identity is anonymous.
Read more about the book at Potter's website, and read a transcript of his interview on WNYC here.
What do you think about this?
The Ultimate Used Furniture Cleaning Kit
Ana Creates a Community at Home
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Z2 iPod Dock and Wi...
Soda Recipe: Homemade Ginger Ale
Recipe: Spring Fruit and Nut Tabouli
It's true, and it doesn't matter at all. A great deal, if not the majority, of human behavior can be attributed to seeking to raise your status or lower another's status; Robin Hanson has written extensively on the subject.
We're going to be signalling our status either way, if a particular type of signalling has positive side-effects then we should encourage it by rewarding those that do it with the status that they are unconsciously seeking.
I, too, see where you say the author is coming from. I want to say, however, hooray for the people who are reevaluating their "bigger/newer/more is better" thinking and who no longer try to define themselves by their belongings. Yes, there will be people who want to be cool or capitalize on "green-ness." Ignore them and move on. While some are "competing against each other to see who is more authentic" (am I reading an air of superiority in the excerpt from Potter's book?), the rest of us are truly striving to reevaluate our own lives and encouraging others in their efforts to do the same.
I say let them try to be cool by trying to be the best at saving the planet... No harm, no foul... We all win for the so called competition. They win because they feel superior, we win because they are living more responsibly. And the planet wins for every little step taken...
I see where the author is coming from. Those that do their best for themselves are often confronted with this situation. If in the end the action has good effects for the rest of mankind - lucky them. If someone else needs to follow suit because its the fashion - lucky us. Ultimately this comes down to ego - in the most honest sense of the word, NOT to mis-taken for insecurity. Those that do their best, that ultimitely is the BEST, and they do not/can not/ will not find a need to verify authenticity. Too bad the majority of people have a corrupt psyche. I'd be nice if we were all authentic.
Who cares what the motives are? As long as it's beneficial to the planet, who are we to knock it?
Authentic actions use authentic products. Remember the standardization of the USDA organic label?? Before that anything could be organic, as in carbon based. Now, not so much. One of the best examples that comes to mind is organic food labeling. There is a 100% organic label issued by the USDA, but do you see those? No. Just little green USDA Organic labels on every package. So sad.
"Conspicuous authenticity" corrupted the ideal of organic to the point of gov't regulation, which is now seen by the majority as good enough, not the BEST one can do.
In short, I care about individuals motives as much as thier actions.
Coincidence, chance and convience are NO substitute for doing the right thing all the time.
I agree with theskip
Saw this on a poster a my kid's school the other day: Character is doing the right thing when nobody's is looking.
Competitive anti-consumption is a turn off for most people and I think it hurts, rather than helps the green movement.
The more elitist and challenging we make goals like consuming less, the fewer people will jump on that bandwagon. We need to make consuming less an attainable goal for all people, not just for those that want to turn it into a competitive sport.
The problem with this being a fad is that sooner or later, every fad changes. It would be nice to imbue people with a deeper commitment to environmental choices, but that's pretty hard. Might as well run with the current fad and hope to catch a few lifelong converts in the process.