Communications for Change: Strategies and Difficulties

Abstract

A context: the symbolic meaning of use For many people; use equals possession, which equals power, power to do things, to enjoy things, and to achieve comfort. People get used to the things they use; take them for granted; and believe it is their right, not their privilege, to use them. A character in a story by Milan Kundera manages to convince a Paris policeman that she has the right to park her car illegally, since the City does not offer drivers enough parking facilities. As it is her right to go shopping; it is, therefore, the municipality's fault; and not hers; that she has to park illegally to go shopping. People use things without consciousness of the processes of production. The well known separation of use from production has resulted in the belief in infinity of resources: the only limit is set by what we can afford to pay; sometimes, beyond that, we feel we should have enough money to buy even what we now cannot afford. Some contemporary artists paint using gallons of acrylic gel. They do not mix the colors; they just buy the gallons. Jan van Eyck never would have conceived of producing a three-centimeter-thick painting; getting the pigments and preparing the colors was a major task; and color was precious. If we had to dig for petroleum and refine it, we would think twice before using the car to go and buy bread two blocks from home, as most North Americans do. Accessibility to ready-made products works like magic. It seems as if things were produced out of the blue. As magic, this easy accessibility gives people the illusion of freedom and power. A revision of use that results in a reduction of use will be feared by people as a possible reduction of freedom and power; and will, therefore, be resisted. From industry's point of view, use generates consumption, which generates business. Industry is very interested in use; lots of use, and intensive use. More use means more demand for more quantity. More quantity means more business. A revision of use which results in a reduction of use will be feared as a possible reduction of business, and will, therefore, be opposed by industry and commerce. Industry and commerce (and, to some extent, people) control governments. Therefore, a revision of use that is opposed by people, industry, and commerce will create difficulty with governments; This text is the edited version of a presenta-