Here is a story about a social experiment currently going on in the Bay Area. I'm posting it for two reasons. First, I think it is an interesting example of how some folks are trying to live their convictions and learning how difficult it is to try and do something perfectly. I also think the story can get folks to think about consumerism and community and to what extent they are compatible and incompatible.
The other reason I'm posting this story is because I think it is a great example of the American DIY spirit. The article reminds me of a news story reported on French TV about a group of NYC residents who got together to fight hunger. The group, a collection of NYC-DIYers with good intentions and presumably progressive-leaning political tendencies, raided restaurant and super market trash bins and then prepared pretty fancy meals for a few homeless folks lucky enough to know about their "program." It is commendable that the group would undertake such a radical plan, but I wonder why they are so dismissive of using their governments--local, state, or even national--to address what is clearly a social problem.
By contrast, for the past two weeks there have been about 250 tents lined up along the canal Saint-Martin in Paris protesting the national government's failure to improve conditions for the country's SDF ("sans domicile fixe"), the homeless. The tents are attracting quite a lot of attention in print and TV media. They've also gotten results: the national government has agreed to increase the number of beds in shelters from 1,100 to 4,000 in the next few months and to 10,500 by the end of 2007. Also, the existing shelters will open earlier in the afternoon and allow folks to stay later in the morning during the week, and will be open 24 hours a day over the weekends. Not a bad "first step" as the organizers of the sleep-out are describing it.
It seems to me that Americans are fixated on a DIY approach to all problems, even social ones that, by definition, require collective action. The thinking seems to be, "We can do it on our own and we don't need your stinking government." The SFO & NYC approaches have a lot of things in common, not the least of which is that the two groups are working in two of the wealthiest cities in world. But the other thing, which I think is a general trend even among traditional lefty-types, is the writing-off of government as an instrument of social improvement.
I'm all for individual initative, but does it have to exclude collective action? It's as if some someone has updated the old Hippocratic aphorism and applied it to the body politic: first, Don't Involve Your Government.
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Group's Rejection of Consumerism Is Catching On
By Carolyn Jones
The San Francisco Chronicle
Wednesday 27 December 2006
Three-thousand people attempt to get by without buying new things.
For Shawn Rosenmoss, the deal-breaker was a drill bit.
John Perry's worst temptation was a plumber's snake for his clogged drain.
Sarah Pelmas and Matt Eddy succumbed to the siren song of new white paint.
But aside from the occasional hardware crises, the Compact – an ever-growing group who have vowed not to buy anything new except food, medicine and underwear - is going strong on its first anniversary.
The Compact originated in December 2005 at a San Francisco dinner party, where guests decided to take recycling one step further and go for a year without new purchases. Consumerism, they said, is destroying the world and most of us already own far more than we need.
They called themselves the Compact as a semi-joking reference to the solemn commitment of the Mayflower pilgrims, but the concept is being taken quite seriously and has quickly spread.
They've been featured in newspapers across the United States and Europe and on the "Today" show, "Good Morning America," "CBS Evening News," TV news in China and Poland, and countless shock-jock radio programs. They were offered book contracts and at least two TV reality shows, all of which they turned down because it seemed contrary to the Compact principles.
Almost 3,000 people from six continents have joined the Compact group onYahoo, and chapters have sprung up around the globe from Alabama to New Zealand.
"It's been staggering," said Compact co-founder John Perry, who works in communications at a Silicon Valley technology company. "We never set out to start a movement or be holier-than-thou models of righteous behavior, but it's been very gratifying to see the impact."
There's also been a mild backlash. One Seattle radio host did a show called "The Compact: Bad for America," and others have logged on to the Compact blog and Yahoo group to accuse them of hypocrisy because they drive cars, fly in planes and otherwise consume nonrenewable resources.
"I was really shocked at some of the venom," Rosenmoss said. "I still don't quite understand it. Why would anyone else care what we do? We're not out to convert anyone."
But for most, participants say the Compact has been a rewardingexperience. Compacters are allowed to buy secondhand items and are encouraged to borrow and reuse whatever possible.
Kids' birthday parties? That's easy. Rosenmoss lets her daughters, who are not bound by the compact, spend their allowance money on new gifts for friends, or encourages them to make something. Instead of giving a gift, Perry, who has two children, makes a donation in the birthday child's name to a group committed to ending world hunger.
"The parents love it because it's one less hunk of molded plastic in their homes," Perry said. "It also gives them something to talk about with their kids."
Baby gear? Not a problem. Secondhand stores are filled with bottles, sippy cups and pacifiers, all of which can be easily sterilized.
Pelmas, a high school administrator, and Eddy, a high school science teacher, bought a house in 2006 and managed extensive renovations with only one trip to the hardware store. That was when they needed white paint for their ceilings. It's easy to find surplus paint in colors, which they used for the walls, but impossible to find surplus white paint. So they caved in and bought new.
Rosenmoss broke the Compact only twice, when she needed a drill bit and when she needed sleeping bags for her kids.
"I looked for used sleeping bags, but frankly the idea was so gross I just couldn't do it," said Rosenmoss, an engineer for the city of San Francisco. "It was like buying used underwear. So I gave myself a reprieve."
But Perry has not veered once from the Compact rules. His bathroom sink has been plugged for months, and it'll stay that way until he finds a drain snake at Thrift Town.
But overall, the year of anti-consumerism has been unexpectedly rewarding, they said.
"We've enjoyed the camaraderie and competitive spirit with friends," Perry said. "And it's been really good for us to think about what we need, as opposed to what we want."
The social aspect appealed to Rosenmoss as well.
"I've really felt part of a community," she said. "I think a big part of our consumer culture has to do with being independent, not asking people for things. But with the Compact you have to borrow a lot, and you realize it's OK."
Most of the original Compacters planned to renew their vow for 2007, but Pelmas and Eddy said they'd had enough - they're headed to Crate and Barrel on Jan. 1.
Meanwhile, Perry wants to turn the Compact up a notch and eliminate packaging. He and his partner already buy shampoo, laundry detergent, peanut butter, olive oil, pasta, spices and other foods in bulk, and he thinks they can go even further.
"The only problem has been toothpaste," he said. "We haven't found it in bulk yet, but we're trying."
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