India as a window on human nature

At a talk on sustainable development, anti-globalisation and welfare themes for ladakh, I see it clearly. The real enemy of environmentalism and even happiness is human nature. As long as wealth is seen as a status symbol, then consuming is progress. As long as we compare our wealth against others, or see our relative wealth as something that makes us valuable, we can't be happy. This struck me when hearing about how low-impact mud houses are rejected in Palestine, and also in India, as these are seen as giving a lower social status than brick or concrete. This dream is clear in India, success is money. Having money means consuming, spending on visible luxuries, houses, cars, televisions. I fear that the cultures which show this, practically every culture in the world, are reflecting human nature. Isn't it clear, in our history money was food, and food is survival. The rich were the 'fittest', and we have yet to shake this off. As a westerner who has rejected money in favour of experience, I am part of a minority. This devaluing of money also occurs in the developed cities of India, but the artists and philosophers are the minority. Recycling and other strategies to reduce impact are just refuges, saving the world means accepting less, in terms of purchasing power. How many people are ready to accept less?

All the schemes and technical solutions to environmentalism are nothing without educating people, not just with information, but changing their very way of thinking.