Remember Reaganomics?: The theory that economic growth will 'naturally' flow from upper socio-economic tiers to lower ones if given the opportunity (e.g., tax cuts for the wealthy). The idea is obviously out of fashion in our current political and economic climate, but trickle-down as a broader concept doesn't seem to have lost its allure.
Few would argue with the fact that liberals traditionally make up the bulk of environmentalists. But global climate change has created a more recent sense of urgency to engage and motivate far greater numbers (and types) of people to behave sustainably. The tactics vary, but some bear and odd resemblance to Reagan's 'trickle down' assumptions. Most notable is the 'eco-chic' movement, which operates under the assumption that the eco-elite will lead the masses to a more sustainable world by making green trendy, chic, or cool—often through the purchase of more consumer goods. It seems an odd contradiction that environmental leftists of the upper-middle class variety, who would most definitively reject Reagan-esque trickle down economics, would embrace an approach to environmentalism that assumes the same basic relationship between status quo soical hierarchies—a rather conservative approach.
The real problem, however, is not the inherent conservativism of eco-chic, or the transient nature of its focus on fashion and trends (as some argue). The more critical issue is that this approach assumes a primacy of the flow in social trends from the upper to lower classes, and that it is both possible and preferrable to exploit this flow as a catalyst for creating sustainable behaviors.
Let's address the primacy issue first. While it may be the case that social trends have historically flowed from upper to lower classes, a very convincing case can be made for the recent disintegration of this phenomenon. Social network theorists point to a growing number of new flows of influence, most of which are facilitated by our increasingly networked existences. Today, more than ever, we are looking to 'others like me' for cues on social values and related actions. The runaway popularity of reality television, social networking sites, and the evolution of news from a tradition of objective journalism to channels for the confirmation of pre-formed values are all signs of this.
As for whether or not it is preferrable or possible to exploit the presumed flow of social influence from upper to lower classes, a great deal of evidence from my own ethnographic research demonstrates that this path of presumed influence is largely irrelevant for the majority of U.S. population, at least in terms of impact on their actual behaviors. Instead, we are beginning to understand the diverse constellation of motivations that lead people to behave sustainably. Although this diversity is disconcerting for market researchers (who’ve spent lifetimes tying purchasing trends to demographic categories), the good news is that a diversity of motivations means there are more and more points of alliance that can potentially drive sustainable behaviors. Whether it’s Christian evangelical leanings, a nationalist passion for decreasing reliance on foreign oil, or keeping a healthy home for your children, behaving sustainably can mean many different things to different people.
What’s more, many people use different standards to evaluate ‘greeness.' They make changes in a piecemeal fashion, and prioritize according to personal considerations of budget, ethical stance, political position, health conditions, etc. What we know now is that, in terms of sustainable behavior, inconsistency is the new norm. Incrementalism and networking have displaced the green revolution of the counter culture variety.
In this environment, the question becomes: how can we design in ways that accommodate these disparate value sets and priorities while simultaneously facilitating green behaviors—all without being pedantic. A challenge, of course. But it's pretty clear that eco-chic crowd and trickle-down environmentalists have lost the momentum they convinced themselves they were gaining (c.f., Hip and Zen to Close).
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