Cost and Value
by Sara Forrest, Commission Member
When we need to buy something it is generally easy to see the Cost of an item. It is much harder to decide what Value we hope to derive from its purchase. Cost is factual but Value is emotional and personal.
We live in a complicated world where we can see that what we did years ago is impacting us today. We know that what we do today will impact future generations. There are few ‘quick fixes’. But we can choose what we spend our money on and how we vote.
The speed of change and power of huge companies mean that new products can be released without a clear picture of the future harm they might do. Sadly social media illustrates this. Big tech profitability means that they have the financial resources to resist changing their business models to reduce harm. The race to market new apps, tech or fashion items and to create sales for the latest models is detrimental to the planet and for some people too their mental health . Luckily organisations like Backmarket and Vinted sell items that have been replaced to enable the purchase of new tech or fashion items and reduce the environmental harm.
In the 70s, the hole on the ozone layer of the earth’s atmosphere was seen as an environmental threat. Like many people I chose to give up buying aerosol sprays with CFCs. Then the UN achieved a ban on the use of CFCs and the ozone layer is now healthy. When all countries work together major change can be achieved.
In response to the CAFOD Live Simply campaign several years ago, I decided to operate a policy of donating an item of clothing to a charity shop each time I bought a new item. Over the course of several years I have discovered that I now value all of the clothes I have. So if I see a new item on line or in a magazine I look in the wardrobe and if I can’t easily identify something to donate I don’t buy it. I value the clothes I wear because I have chosen them with care. For example I now buy brighter colours that cheer me up rather than neutrals that go with everything.
It is easier to say ‘I value……’ than to live it. We have Fairtrade coffee at home but my husband hasn’t found a Fairtrade tea or milk chocolate that he likes. In politics, as in households, it is hard to live your values because compromises have to be made between the short and long term and between spending priorities. Especially since as a country we are in debt and borrowing to maintain ourselves.
I once went on a Problem Solving in Organisations course and learnt that we could expect to ask the question ‘why does that happen?’ at least 6 times to uncover the true root cause of the problem needing a solution. Health inequalities due to poverty and poor educational outcomes are systemic. We would need to pay much higher taxes to address the root causes of them. It’s no wonder short term plans to achieve minor improvements are implemented.
Elections come round regularly so maybe we should all think more carefully about what we Value and what we see as the best way forward to demonstrate it at a national level. In our democracy we elect the individual rather than their Party, though many people vote on a Party basis. We need to follow UK politics so that when we vote we can chose the candidate that we think best reflects our personal values and Catholic Social Teaching.
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