Most of us I think have developed a higher tolerance for “stuff” we have at home than we would naturally prefer. We might easily prefer more “space” than “stuff”. That’s why you have literal self help products around de-cluttering.
What can published in a journal on this subject can be witnessed in real-time, symptom of imbalanced globalization.
beautiful table recovered from curbside
another recovered from curbside, with the glass separately recovered but fits good!
what’s left today at curbside headed to landfill
There is very little defense against the evidence of over-production, manufacturing, processing, refinement, and retailing and consumption of consumer goods through the “global supply chain”. As an M.A. graduate in Globalization studies, I can analyze this academically, but anyone can see it happening.
The real benefit of this inquiry will come when Earthworks can implement the “waste as a community asset” project in Hintonburg, which is a Robin Hood initiative of turning evil into good LOL. And without stealing from the rich!, We, the ordinary citizen, are those rich who just give it away. And the big cities, especially ports like Dakar, Senegal, in “poor” countries in the world are actually saturated even more than we are, with disposable consumer goods.
On the left, this is not debatable, but it’s hard to figure how conservative economists could possibly find virtue in such a deplorable situation. But they seem to not only want to continue, but to fight against threats to this way of doing things, the so-called “global economy”.
Clearly, when so much perfectly good actual fully functional consumer objects are thrown curbside, not to mention all the useable material from “broken” objects, are just tossed, we can see that:
STUFF has very little value now, and SPACE is much more valuable than stuff.
This explains the rent and ownership housing price crises that create homelessness. High demand for living space, as necessity or luxury, and the actual shrinking amount of land as global population grows. At the beginning of this colony Canada, land was both stolen and dirt cheap. Now…
SPACE versus STUFF.
But it’s still unsatisfying to throw out perfectly good stuff that can be useful, or turn down free stuff, even if space is more useful and desirable.
Even the basic food is in surplus supply and despite inflation there is actually still plenty of free and reduced food, and perfectly good food going to dumpster/compactor. The reason is space and the distribution model. Capitalist grocers overstock and run out of space, therefore they dump food on or even before expiry, sometimes blemished, sometimes not even. So they can have full shelves all the time to meet consumer expectations. They need the space. Even lovely Hintonburg progressive and hip organic grocers like Herb and Spice do this routinely. This despite best efforts from Parkdale Food Centre and the Ottawa Community Food Partnership to “rescue” that food and redistribute to low-income neighbours for free.
SPACE.
Therefore let us focus our efforts as progressives toward the primary and immediate and massive demand for better spatial organization, distribution, justice and equity.
SPACE, for the adequate supply of quality affordable mixed income housing to meet demands of poor and working/middle income neighbours, over insufficient social housing ghettos and corporate developer influence.
SPACE for people to congregate without the requirement of money to participate.
SPACE for community innovation hubs to empower local green and social nonprofits, businesses and collaborative projects.
SPACE for gardens and urban farming not just lawns.
SPACE for a company like Earthworks to warehouse, sort, and redistribute waste as a community asset rather than trucking it out to God knows what unaccountable process in the capitalist garbage and recycling industries (like dumping it in developing countries
Taking back parking lots from the evil parking corporations who do zero for community and just charge and ticket. Do EV charging, bike shares, food trucks and events.
Reorganization of transportation SPACE away from private car dominance, towards walking, cycling, public transit, and essential services. Localize trade and build neighbourhood cohesion.
End the monoculture growing of high rises as Condominiums, and think of densification beyond expensive ownership housing.
SPACE is premium, stuff is close to worthless. Money itself is losing its value (inflation).
We just want more SPACE. And TIME. Another essay can tell you why clearly TIME has much greater value than MONEY, particularly with money’s recent decline (inflation).
By the way, inflation is no time to become miserly about money, hanging onto it rather than tipping, donating, giving to panhandlers etc. Think about it. It was worth more before, abd why should it be harder to part with now Give, if you’ve covered your basics, because it’s harder for thos who can’t.
SPACE apart from hospitals, for low-income folks with mental health difficulties to go to recover, rejuvenate, reset, FREE SPACE for self care and being cared for, healing, and the full range of health empowerment not just allopathic medication.
Finally, what is needed are the structural incentives in the global economy to degrow STUFF, and create more SPACE. Look at the trillions of $ that go towards mining raw resources, transporting, processing, refining, manufacturing transporting again, retailing with more transporting and finally a short shelf life at home, before hitting the curbside. Not to mention where the money fat actually is, it stays in the non-producing West, in the research and development, IP, management, and organization of private and public capital for the result of more stuff. Because stupid economits say that’s what we need for “jobs” ie. Our livelihoods are meant to depend on it.
Imagine if the economic engine were incentived to create more free or affordable TIME and SPACE.
Yum, I love that!
