Consumerism and the Environment

So Will likes consumerism; nothing surprising there. Among the appalling aspects of the column was Will’s assertion that Puritan and Quaker critiques of consumerism were “homespun.” I assume by that he means of American origin. Just for the historical record, the Quakers and Puritans left Europe with their anti-materialist ideals well-defined.

A genuinely indigenous American critique of consumerism that Will didn’t mention was the Hopi belief that people who take more from the Earth than they actually need doom themselves and everything that shares the Earth with them. While Will sees a folksy logic to our consumer culture, I see wisdom in the teachings of the Hopis.

Will should visit the site of a clear-cut forest, hike around a few sprawling landfills and breath what passes for air in Los Angeles before he writes his next paean to conspicuous consumption.

MICHAEL LEE

Venice