Editorial INDUSTRIAL Production 3/2023
Romantic consumption
After a year of war in Ukraine with repeated targeted attacks on the civilian population, I am a little perplexed that there are still - or increasingly so - people who take the easy way out and demand concessions from the invaded.
One might get the impression that they finally want to return to the relaxed pre-war calm. It is easy to call for negotiations and suggest that anyone who does not join in has no interest in peace. Unfortunately, this demand ignores the fact that the aggressor is currently not prepared to make any concessions. That's the tempting thing about populism - you only have to deal with the realities marginally, so the argumentation constructs only have to be superficially consistent. This strikes a chord and fits in with the desire for everything to be good again, for a threat to simply disappear. Understandable.
We want to pursue our own desires and needs as undisturbed, pleasant and cheaply as possible. The historian Yuval Noah Harari calls this "romantic consumerism" in his brilliant book "A Brief History of Humanity". Of course, distortions are disturbing when they take place in close proximity and even have an impact on everyday life. But anyone who believes that after an armistice, after the end of the war, everything will somehow soon be as it was before is mistaken. I am sure of that.
The cost of energy - as well as many other raw materials and products - will not return to its previous low level. This is not just a consequence of the war. We are also beginning to see the price we will have to pay in future for the fact that climate protection has been seen primarily as an idealistic fantasy in recent decades, to which romantic consumerism will not be subordinated under any circumstances. We will have to learn to deal with these problems, adapt and break new ground. We cannot impose this on the Ukrainians.
This makes it all the more important to be aware of how we use energy and other resources and to internalize this. Quality of life does not have to suffer as a result, provided you have the will and some flexibility. There should always be an incentive to actively look for alternatives.
The focus of the current issue of INDUSTRIAL Production is "Industrial Communication" with a focus on embedded technology and, of course, the embedded world Exhibition & Conference from March 14 to 16 in Nuremberg. We are already giving you an insight into the latest applications, trends and product developments in the embedded sector.
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