Shop until the planet drops , By: Jon Rynn

A specter is haunting the world, but it is not a well-defined ideology,

like capitalism or communism. And yet, since World War II, it has been
responsible for more destruction than these ideologies, creating a
civilization that is copied the world over, one that specializes in
using up as much oil and coal, forests and land as possible. It is the
specter of suburbanism, the idea that it is everybody’s God-given right
to live as far away from work, shopping, recreation and friends and
relatives as one wants to. Now that we are confronted with a virtually
intractable set of global problems, what is the recommended path to
global safety that seems to emanate from this “non-negotiable
lifestyle”? Shopping, of course!By compartmentalizing political, economic, and even
ecological theory,
the fate of the planet is being jeopardized. By concentrating on just
politics, a political theorist does not consider the importance of
being a good steward for the economy and ecosystems. The discussion of
political democracy is impoverished, because it should be clear by now
that excessive concentration of economic power leads to a thoroughly
warped democratic political system.