Serge Latouche, “Beyond the Wasteful Society”
Earlier this year, I found myself mentally exhausted, overwhelmed by work. I was caught in a cycle of late nights and weekend shifts, losing sight of the things that once brought me joy. My hobbies—exercise, music, reading—had been neglected for months. As the pillars that supported my identity crumbled, so did my sense of self. It was only after a long time in this state that I even realized how dire my situation had become. By chance, one weekend morning, I stumbled into a small independent bookstore near my home. The warm welcome from the owner and a comforting cup of hot chocolate melted away some of my stress. Picking up a book after so long, I felt the words flow effortlessly, and my heart warmed along with them.
What kept me coming back to independent bookstores was that sense of warmth. In search of a larger, quieter place to read, I discovered an intriguing spot. It’s an unmanned bookstore that occasionally hosts independent film screenings—a haven for enthusiasts. The books on the owner’s shelves were free to read, and one, in particular, caught my eye: Serge Latouche’s Beyond the Wasteful Society.
Serge Latouche, an elderly French philosopher and professor emeritus at Paris 11 University, holds multiple degrees in political science, philosophy, and economics. He has long critiqued capitalism, and today, he is well-known as a prominent theorist of “degrowth.” In Beyond the Wasteful Society, Latouche criticizes the paradox of infinite growth inherent in the capitalist system. Here are a few memorable quotes from the book:
- “Under the threat of unemployment, workers’ lives have been reduced to the activities of a biodigester, exchanging wages for goods and goods for wages, moving from the factory to the supermarket, and back again.”
- “The lobotomy of imagination, the colonization of imagination.”
- “Once it is acknowledged that the supply of goods is the commandment of the day, it is no wonder that those without purchasing power buy the supplied goods. They do so because it is more righteous than breaking the commandment, which would mean not acquiring the goods. … In the end, we don’t get what we need; we end up needing what we have.”
- Neophilia.
- “For production to continue, products must die.”
- “Eco doesn’t just get angry; he draws philosophical conclusions. ‘If your morality once demanded that we become Spartans, today it asks us to be Sybarites.’”
- “The adjective ‘progressive’ was quickly forgotten, but the practice it referred to spread. Business strategies increasingly focused on the planned obsolescence of style. … The recession accelerated this trend. Now, designers, not engineers, were leading the American industrial sector.”
Analyses of capitalism’s limitations have been conducted by numerous scholars. Works like Marx’s Capital and Jean Baudrillard’s Simulacra and Simulation focus on the concept of “value,” highlighting both the macro-structural issues and the micro-individual consequences that arise from capitalism. Latouche’s book follows in this tradition, addressing the problems of consumer behavior and the products we use.
Capitalism, by its nature, must continually grow. For example, in a nearby research institute, a team leader resigned after a failed project. The logic is simple: only by succeeding in projects and generating long-term profits can one continue to pay employees. If a company cannot maintain constant sales, it cannot pay its workers, who, if unemployed, will reduce their consumption, leading to a decline in overall production and further loss in sales—a vicious cycle. It’s no wonder that likening a profit-driven organization to a wheel is so apt; any slowdown causes societal rigidity and economic downturn, whereas acceleration brings flexibility and growth.
The problem is that scientific and technological progress does not always equate to societal advancement. The 2010 documentary The Light Bulb Conspiracy illustrates how light bulb technology has long been advanced enough, but manufacturers intentionally shortened the lifespan of bulbs to sustain sales. This “planned obsolescence” isn’t limited to light bulbs; it’s also found in stockings, cars, and even iPhones. Furthermore, IT companies have adopted subscription models. One of my favorite DJ equipment companies, Pioneer, switched to a subscription system and then updated their software to deliberately render older hardware unusable.
As someone dedicated to the advancement of science and technology, the seventh quote struck me hard. Even the most advanced technologies can no longer be offered solely on their merits. Within capitalism, science and technology are not valued for their inherent beauty or academic worth but for their market value, their capitalist value. Moreover, the quality of products available to people is increasingly determined by their purchasing power. In hindsight, perhaps this has always been the case—just as research that doesn’t promise profit receives less funding.
The numerous limitations of capitalism don’t necessarily mean that it should be replaced by another system, such as socialism. As the capitalist system evolves, unforeseen problems arise, and we should find ways to address them appropriately. However, capitalism fundamentally requires “continuous growth.” Doesn’t this infinite growth inevitably meet physical limits? If growth continues indefinitely, won’t we eventually reach a singularity? This thought aligns with the ideas of futurists like Ray Kurzweil. If infinite growth isn’t possible, the collapse of the socio-economic system seems inevitable. Whichever way it unfolds, it leads to a dystopian outcome.
How can we solve the problem of capitalism’s need for “continuous growth”? Perhaps Elon Musk’s pursuit of colonizing Mars is an unavoidable solution. I’ll be exploring more related books.
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