Mindfulness in the Marketplace: Compassionate Responses to Consumerism

by Allan Hunt Badiner (Editor), Julia Butterfly Hill (Foreword by)

Mindfulness in the Marketplace suggests a reorientation of consumers from passive purchasers to aware, responsible citizens who see the dynamic connection between their purchases and their values. The Middle Path of Buddhism is not to avoid all consumption, but to consume mindfully in a manner that protects ourselves and all living systems. This anthology outlines a path of compassionate resistance to global corporatization, and offers a view of getting into right relationship with the Earth. Includes the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh, Stephen Batchelor, and Joanna Macy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Buddhism

352 pages, Paperback

First published October 8, 2002

Reviews

[Valerie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary book about business and ethics. Do we really need green beans from France and pasta from Italy? I re-read it often.

[CTEP]

I had the opportunity to attend the NTEN nonprofit technology conference last month, and have been thinking a lot about “mindfulness” after sitting on a few sessions that focused on the topic, particularly how it relates to technology. “Mindfulness in the Marketplace,” a collection of essays and other writings on the importance of making mindful decisions about how we consume, seemed like a good starting point into books on the wide spanning topic of mindfulness, and so I decided to start there for April's book share.


At its core, this book is about thoughtfully choosing what we buy by aligning our consumption to our values. Much of the philosophy draws from Buddhism, as many of the authors focus on overarching topics such as humanity’s inter-connectedness and sustainable living. While these topics can easily stay fixed in broad, vague language, the book does well in narrowing its focus to how mindful consumption on the individual can lead to a healthier world. “Consuming in the 21st century,” they write, “is a new form of activism,” and by being thoughtful about what we buy, we can be active in reversing many of the problems that go hand-in-hand with consumerism.

While many of the authors are united in their belief that consumerism has brought serious problems, they differ in how the identify consumerism’s root causes and the solutions to those problems. The body of their essays highlight a wide range of causes, ranging from historical over consumption, materialism, the global scale of economy, to patriarchy. Each author, while stressing slightly different aspects of each of these causes, agrees that consumerism has been largely western-based, developed over the long course of history, and has permeated almost every aspect of both ourselves and the western culture we have built.
Likewise, the range of solutions to the problems associated with consumption vary from essay to essay, though all connect back to the central idea of the power of mindfulness for the individual consumer. Ways to consume mindfully include becoming “ecoliterate” (i.e. understanding how a material item comes from, what is changed or impacted by its creation and your consumption of it), considering the scale of the market you are in, and by employing the Buddhist philosophy of making sure your consumption benefits many others as well as yourself.

The book gets most interesting with the variety of definitions that each author offers for what "mindfulness" really means. A particular metaphorical definition stuck out to me: “mindfulness is the blood of our psyche...when we are not mindful, we ingest many poisons into our consciousness...As a result, our suffering increases.” In other words, a mindless consumption choice can end up doing more harm than good, for ourselves and for the world. Only mindful consumption can truly be satisfying in the long run.

While this book was kind of all over the place, it had a lot to offer me in terms of awareness of my own role in our consumption-based culture, but more importantly it helped me focus this topic as I think about how to get youth in the KAYSC to become more mindful of their role as consumers. The topic is timely, as many of our seniors will be entering a new age of independence as they enter college and life after high school and will be making many more decisions for themselves.

[Colin Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes some time to get through all the essays in this book but it's worth it because it is a mine of great wisdom and insight into how you and I can easily make a difference in the world for the better. It illustrates through the contributions of many thoughtful essays the interrelatedness of all things and shows how our patterns of consumption influence for good or ill the lives of ourselves and others. It shows how Gandhi's saying "There's enough for everyone's need but not enough for everyone's greed." is true and how we ignore this at our peril. Some of the essays lay bare the internal mechanisms which advertising, media and the vested interests of the corporations powerfully exploit and, most importantly, shows you how to resist their seductions. It takes a middle road between extremes and shows how true wealth supports rather than undermines our collective wellbeing. Finally it makes a very helpful distinction between poverty and simplicity and shows how the latter brings us a more fulfilled, happy and peaceful life. If I have one criticism it is that some of the essays are quite intellectual and do require sympathy with, if not understanding of, buddhist terms.

[Niklas Braun · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book, better than expected. It had lots of useful information based on a Buddhist interpretation of everyday consumption, mainly pertaining to how to consider all of the impacts of choices we make everyday. Surprisingly more relevant than ever despite its early 2000s publication.

[Walkeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some essays (early in the book) were more insightful than others. If you're already a conscientious shopper, you don't nees to read this. But, if you haven't thought much about what you purchase or where or why, you may find a bit of enlightenment.

[Marta Söderlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of my favorite books! I recommend to many people and reference it quite often. I am upset because I lent out my copy to someone and never got it back!