`` The Total Economy `` By Wendell Berry - 1719 Words

The interconnected world in which we live today is absolutely amazing. It is possible to drink a cup of coffee grown in Uganda with a chocolate bar sourced from Brazilian cacao beans while ordering a sweater made in Bangladesh. This entanglement with the rest of the world is not without its shadows, however. The items that we so easily buy and throw out exploit laborers and resources from the farthest corners of the world. Even deeds that we feel are good for the disadvantaged people in the US and abroad, such as donating to Goodwill or providing monetary aid to Africa, have their own drawbacks as well. Living as a Christian in this globalized world presents challenges to Biblical values and requires thinking deeply about how our decisions affect ourselves and others. One feature of globalization that creates challenges for Christians who are attempting to live out their values in their everyday life is the disposable lifestyle that it enables. In his essay â€Å"The Total Economyâ € , Wendell Berry lays out the logistics of this lifestyle in no uncertain terms. He explains that there are two variables in this equation that allows the cheap production and therefore large profit margin: consumers with surplus money, and a surplus of labor and raw materials. Even as a â€Å"poor college student†, I still have a surplus of money at my disposal. The things that I want or â€Å"need† are always on the shelf at Walmart, or a click away on the Amazon website. It is easy to buy things cheaply, andShow MoreRelatedWorld War I: The Primary Cause of the Russian Revolution1065 Words   |  4 PagesWendell Berry eminently alleged, â€Å"In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody elses mind or by a disembodied mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to learn the truth about the activities of governments and corporations, about the quality or value of products, or about the health of ones own place and economy† (â€Å"Quotes Abou t Economy†). This, in fact, relates back to the Iranian Revolution. With these caveats in place, the Iranian economy may be designated as: oil-centered,Read MoreBusiness Ethics : American Consumerism At Fault2176 Words   |  9 PagesAmerican Consumerism at Fault It’s irrefutable that the United States of America is the world’s foremost economic and political power. The combination of our country’s â€Å"Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 15.7 trillion dollars being almost a quarter of the total world’s GDP,†(Singh) coupled with being the leaders of the free world create an unparalleled nation. However, blinded by our convenient accessibility to everything and anything, we often forget that our consumer choices have repercussions to othersRead MoreEffects Of Global Warming On The Environment1921 Words   |  8 PagesHumans caused global warming. With the economy that was built to deny any responsibility for the environment and cover up the truth behind their disgusting selfishness, it is hard to start fixing the environment when many people do not even believe a problem exists. I believe that it all came from the overwhelming power of the industry to lie and blind people from what is right there. Related to â€Å"Two Economies† by Wendell Berry, the economy that we have is an economy without value; I learned the lessonRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 Pagesinfluence your choice of promotional activity? Limitations of the Marketing Mix Framework The marketing mix framework was particularly useful in the early days of the marketing concept when physical products represented a larger portion of the economy. Today, with marketing more integrated into organizations and with a wider variety of products and markets, some authors have attempted to extend its usefulness by proposing a fifth P, such as packaging, people, process, etc. Today however, the marketingRead MoreProject Mgmt296381 Words   |  1186 PagesManagement, First Edition Hayen, SAP R/3 Enterprise Software: An Introduction, First Edition Hill, Manufacturing Strategy: Text Cases, Third Edition Hopp, Supply Chain Science, First Edition Hopp and Spearman, Factory Physics, Third Edition Jacobs, Berry, Whybark, and Vollmann Manufacturing Planning Control for Supply Chain Management, Sixth Edition Jacobs and Chase, Operations and Supply Management: The Core, Second Edition Jacobs and Chase Operations and Supply Management, Thirteenth Edition Jacobs