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enough hours in the day, and that the pace of life is too fast. This daily time pressure contributes
to a sense of being out of control, and out of balance. In the 1980s and 1990s, a growing number
of adults report that they would prefer to trade income for time. (The numbers are up to about a
third in some of the surveys I have done. Many more want free time but say they cannot afford to
earn less.) A significant number of adults have already responded to this time squeeze by making
voluntary decisions to work fewer hours. We call them downshifters, and my polling indicates that
in the first half of the 1990s, about 20% of Americans downshifted voluntarily, about half of
whom indicated theirs was a permanent change. But downshifting typically means changing jobs
or dropping out of the labor force, a strategy which is not generalizable.
I believe this widespread sense of inadequate time for family, community, and for self is a
powerful lever for change. If working hours can be made more downward flexible, we have a
feasible way to meet the challenge taken by the industrialized countries at the 1992 Rio Summit:
consume fewer natural resources. We could use more of our productivity growth to reduce
average working hours, rather than to increase incomes.
The viability of this approach derives from a major asymmetry in preferences for income and time.
People are much less attached to income they have not yet gotten than they are to income they
already have. Polls show very high willingness to forego increases in pay in order to gain free time
(much more than to reduce current incomes). Eliminating the structural bias against that outcome
could put the economy on a path of increasing leisure and slower consumption growth.
Does solving the problem of global warming require consuming less? While technological
improvements are certainly key to reductions in greenhouse gases, we are also bedevilled by the
fact that improvements in efficiency are being counterbalanced by increases in the scale of
consumption. (Automobiles are a prime example here. Increased house size is another.)
Technological progess is not currently rapid enough to allow us to ignore the scale factor
A combination of reductions in emissions per unit of consumption and reducing the growth of
consumption could be an effective response to the problem of global warming.
Ultimately, I believe a feasible strategy for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy
(something we are very far from at the moment), is to provide an appealing vision of daily life
which speaks to people's needs for time, a sense of control, community and human connection.
While consuming has its undeniable virtues, for millions of middle-class Americans more income
will not provide enough more well-being to counter-balance those needs. The "keeping up"
dynamics now prevalent among consumers have a strong Prisoner's Dilemma aspect to them.
Furthermore, large majorities of Americans are concerned about the growth of materialism and
consumerism, and the impact on traditional values. I believe there would be popular resonance to
a twenty-first century vision of a less consumerist and more responsible pattern of working,
spending, and being with each other.
With all best wishes, I am,
Juliet Schor
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"ocrText": "enough hours in the day, and that the pace of life is too fast. This daily time pressure contributes\nto a sense of being out of control, and out of balance. In the 1980s and 1990s, a growing number\nof adults report that they would prefer to trade income for time. (The numbers are up to about a\nthird in some of the surveys I have done. Many more want free time but say they cannot afford to\nearn less.) A significant number of adults have already responded to this time squeeze by making\nvoluntary decisions to work fewer hours. We call them downshifters, and my polling indicates that\nin the first half of the 1990s, about 20% of Americans downshifted voluntarily, about half of\nwhom indicated theirs was a permanent change. But downshifting typically means changing jobs\nor dropping out of the labor force, a strategy which is not generalizable.\nI believe this widespread sense of inadequate time for family, community, and for self is a\npowerful lever for change. If working hours can be made more downward flexible, we have a\nfeasible way to meet the challenge taken by the industrialized countries at the 1992 Rio Summit:\nconsume fewer natural resources. We could use more of our productivity growth to reduce\naverage working hours, rather than to increase incomes.\nThe viability of this approach derives from a major asymmetry in preferences for income and time.\nPeople are much less attached to income they have not yet gotten than they are to income they\nalready have. Polls show very high willingness to forego increases in pay in order to gain free time\n(much more than to reduce current incomes). Eliminating the structural bias against that outcome\ncould put the economy on a path of increasing leisure and slower consumption growth.\nDoes solving the problem of global warming require consuming less? While technological\nimprovements are certainly key to reductions in greenhouse gases, we are also bedevilled by the\nfact that improvements in efficiency are being counterbalanced by increases in the scale of\nconsumption. (Automobiles are a prime example here. Increased house size is another.)\nTechnological progess is not currently rapid enough to allow us to ignore the scale factor\nA combination of reductions in emissions per unit of consumption and reducing the growth of\nconsumption could be an effective response to the problem of global warming.\nUltimately, I believe a feasible strategy for achieving an environmentally sustainable economy\n(something we are very far from at the moment), is to provide an appealing vision of daily life\nwhich speaks to people's needs for time, a sense of control, community and human connection.\nWhile consuming has its undeniable virtues, for millions of middle-class Americans more income\nwill not provide enough more well-being to counter-balance those needs. The \"keeping up\"\ndynamics now prevalent among consumers have a strong Prisoner's Dilemma aspect to them.\nFurthermore, large majorities of Americans are concerned about the growth of materialism and\nconsumerism, and the impact on traditional values. I believe there would be popular resonance to\na twenty-first century vision of a less consumerist and more responsible pattern of working,\nspending, and being with each other.\nWith all best wishes, I am,\nJuliet Schor"
}