Studying lifestyles

Examining cross-cultural differences in lifestyles

Implementation

The Society for Sustainable Living (SSL), in coordination with the Japan Centre and the American Centre for Culture and Commerce (both based in Prague) sponsored a multicultural seminar entitled "Perspectives of Sustainable Living in Europe, Japan and North America (Prague, December 1994). The seminar's objective was to concentrate on religious, ethical, political, social, technical and economic factors necessary for sustainable living, and sustainable and non-sustainable trends in the three regions. It analysed various cultural interpretations of the concepts "sustainable development", sustainable society" and "sustainable future".

Claim

If the world had the productivity of the Swiss, the consumption habits of the Chinese, the egalitarian instincts of the Swedes and the social discipline of the Japanese, the planet could support many times its population without privation for anyone. On the other hand, if the world had the productivity of Chad, the consumption habits of the USA, the egalitarian instincts of India and the social discipline of Argentina, then the planet could not support anywhere near its current numbers.