By Anil Netto
One of the bright sparks about the global economic slowdown is that it is forcing many to re-think the underlying assumptions about human life and the economy.

Apart from slowing down the rate of green house gas emissions, the global recession is forcing countries to re-examine the export-oriented MNC-driven model of economic growth.

One of the biggest concerns is that the people in India, China and other developing countries are aiming to emulate the life-styles of those in developed countries such as the United States, where the biggest consumers on earth live.

If consumption in developing nations rises to the level of the developed nations, then we might need several earths to provide the raw materials required for such consumption. But we have only one earth.

Falling global consumption makes us ask questions such as, should an economy be measured in terms of the output of goods and services — as if the higher or faster our GDP growth the better? Or should we look at more sustainable measurements?

Is human happiness possible or achievable when we have to work longer and longer to make ends meet, negating the gains of the workers’ rights struggle, which succeeded in securing the eight-hour work day?

Should we move from a model of everincreasing consumption towards one that promotes conservation and self-sufficiency? Should we build more shopping malls or allocate more space for farms and orchards?

Should we focus on traditional organic farming? Shouldn’t every family be encouraged to grow their own food, whether in apartment corridors or little garden patches or community organic gardens?

Shouldn’t we radically change our diets from processed foods and mass produced meat to natural food such as fresh organic fruit and vegetables? Instead of fresh fruit and vegetables, rich sources of vitamins in their natural state, we prefer to pop multivitamin pills.

Should children be crammed with school work that fails to teach them to think creatively and creatively about the problems facing the world?

The faltering US economy will also make it harder for America to indulge in expensive military adventures abroad. It may also lead to the shutting down of the over 700 US bases abroad. And that can’t be a bad thing.

In school, we once learnt that our basic needs are food, shelter and clothing. There was a time when people did not rush off to buy new clothes when old ones got torn or children outgrew theirs. Instead, they sewed patches and handed clothes down from the oldest child to the youngest.

The global recession makes us realise that the best things in life are often free and our real needs often cost little.

What’s free? Fresh air, clean water (from rainfall and unpolluted streams and rivers), fruit and vegetables from the plants we grow (or rather, should be growing), the health-giving properties of sunshine (plus we have not yet fully tapped solar energy), exercise (which can prevent or stave off a whole range of illnesses).

Then there are the non-tangible things that are free: love, solidarity, community relations, volunteerism in the service of others, concern for the poor, justice — all gifts in their own right.

If we look at the great philosophers and thinkers of history, many of them led lives of simplicity and self-sufficiency.

As a young man, Buddha renounced worldly power and riches. He snipped off his long hair and stripped off his royal garments. He put on a hermit’s robe and retreated into the solitude of the forest to seek the meaning of life and the answers to life's problems that had so vexed him. This was his great renunciation. He finally reached the river Neranja at Gaya where he was drawn to the soothing clear waters and still, dense groves.

Mahatma Gandhi firmly believed that long daily walks kept ill-health and many diseases at bay. He turned the spinning wheel into a national icon by using it to promote the idea of self-sufficiency. He also galvanised India when he led a march to produce salt from the sea.

Jesus too spent a lot of time walking along lake shores and climbing hills, strolling along dusty roads from one hamlet to another. Along the way, he admired the lilies in the field and the sparrows, and preached parables using nature as his inspiration. He cooked fresh fish, drank fresh water from brooks and streams, prayed in open gardens and slept under the stars.

Yes, the best things in life are often simple and free. But over the years, blinded by greed and the desire to make ever-increasing profits, we have complicated life while corporations promoting consumerism have turned gifts from God — e.g. land, water, health care and education — into commodities for profit. It’s time to go back to basics.