It seems that one of the problems we have as consumers is that though we often know what we want the world to be like in theory, we rarely know how to establish such a world in practice. We can consistently criticize the system, the corporation, the government, and all others, but at the end of the day, we continue to consume what they produce for us and rarely have the audacity to actually demand something different. It is so easy to spot injustice in the actions of others and the institutions that contain us; but what it is more difficult—and frankly, more necessary—is demanding something that is indeed more just.
However, if we—the consumers—actually do want real change to exist in our world, then we are going to begin by taking some responsibility for what it is that we demand and what it is that we consume. It is one thing to criticize the oil and gas companies for their apparent acts of destruction and overconsumption, but if we do not actually change the way we act as consumers ourselves, then there will never be any real change or any sort of movement in any positive direction. Beyond our energy industries, the same can be said about our political systems, our distribution systems, and every element of our market economy that we—the consumers—have the direct ability to control.
Say’s Laws of Markets—an economic principle established in the early 1800s suggesting that supply creates demand—is, by itself, both an incomplete and incorrect way of interpreting markets that dangerously diminishes the role of the consumer. Though, in a vacuum, consumers will indeed generally demand only that which can be reasonably supplied, what this particular principle fails to realize is that demand is also what dictates supply. It would be foolish for suppliers to simply create something the market is not demanding and blindly hope that supply will somehow be spontaneously generated out of thin air. Rather, what must be realized on both sides of the economic equation is that supply and demand are constantly interacting, and constantly generating feedback.
Simultaneously, both of these things are true: consumers are constrained by the fact that they can only demand by what can be supplied, and suppliers are constrained by the fact that they can only supply what will be demanded by the market. In a (relatively) free market, both parties are ultimately accountable to one another, and ultimately, both parties have the ability to manipulate the actions of the other.
As individuals participating in the demand side of the economy, we—the consumers—ought to ask ourselves: what, exactly, are we demanding? Are we demanding corporations produce our consumables in a sustainable way? Are we demanding corporations create something that will benefit not only themselves, but for society as a whole? Are we, the people, actually demanding the creation of a better world? Or are we simply criticizing the status quo from our ivory towers and hoping that a better world will somehow be supplied on its own?
The principles of supply and demand, though perhaps oversimplified at times, have consistently demonstrated themselves to be true. If there exists an unsatisfied demand in the market, eventually, it will be supplied. As conscious consumers, we can immediately create a better world for ourselves and for our posterity. If we demand those in power to supply something better, eventually, positive change will follow.
-Andrew Paniello
The Conscious Consumer 