DEMATERIALIZATION
Before I read an article in Time magazine recently, I thought dematerialization had something to do with Star Trek and beaming the characters to a distant space. It turns out that the term refers to an environmental movement designed to reduce the volume of garbage society produces. The idea holds that as we move more fully into the information age, with the internet and telecommuting and downloading music, we'll be less reliant on material items. That is, downloading would reduce the demand for cd cases, telecommuting would reduce the demand for metals in cars and for fuels and more use of the internet for information would reduce the demand for paper and so forth. This would reduce waste in the manufacturing processes and produce less garbage for discard and benefit us all.
I'm usually a little suspicious of movements which require us to change our habits to improve society in the future. After all, alternative answers to the garbage problem include improving methods of disposal, or better recycling techniques, or more easily recyclable materials, or simply accepting our lifestyles and allowing producers to meet our wants. But I'm rather taken with how the idea of dematerialization combines existing trends with environmental improvement. We're already seeing movement in the direction of dematerialization. Even before the possibility of downloading music, market forces were moving to improve the cd jewelbox and make it more economic. Even before the current possibilities of telecommuting, we were occasionally working from home, using telephones and typewriters. Before the popularity of the internet, as soon as computers were widely used in business, we were talking of the paperless society.
If we could maintain our lifestyles more efficiently and protect the environment at the same time, who would argue. That's the key to me, in a free society. We shouldn't be forced to change by the dictates of politicians and bureaucrats, let alone by their bungling and refusal to recognize reality. We've seen enough of the latter in connection with the continuing California electricity crisis. Let's insist on choosing our own lifestyles, with an eye and open mind to better solutions when they appear. Let's opt for change when it makes things better and resist experimentation for experimentation's sake. In that way, we'll maintain our freedom and still find ways to make things better for everyone, both now and in the future.
5-28-01
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