A Natural Economy

When Americans are asked to conjure an image of Brazil, the most common one is leisure. It's wide, sandy beaches and family gatherings where relaxation takes precedence. However, all of this is changing today as Brazil is embracing consumerism.

Brazil is currently the world's seventh largest economy, and capitalism is fueled by consumerism. Economies grow quickly when consumerism flourishes. Over the past twenty years, Brazil has grown astronomically. The boom has been so dramatic the country is considered by economists to be an “Emerging Market,” a country rising above its previous status. It has a GDP of about U$2 trillion, and it has been labeled a “second world” country and a member of the BRICS alliance, the most elite group of developing countries (Brazil/Russia/India/China/South Africa).

What is driving Brazil? A large middle class has emerged in a country where previously there was none. The new emerging class has arisen thanks to a sustained period over the past 20 years of low unemployment, low inflation, and vast government assistance programs being distributed to one quarter of the population. (Only recently has economic growth stalled.)

For many Brazilians, consumerism can't come soon enough. For decades Brazilians have traveled through Curitiba across the state of Paraná to the border at Foz do Iguaçu to enter neighboring Paraguay for inexpensive shopping. Small businesses were started based entirely on these smuggled consumer items. Equally enticing and more complicated are shopping trips to Miami's designer label outlets. (Lately, with the real losing value against the dollar, Miami shopping trips have become less attractive.)

Coinciding with the increased purchasing power of the emerging middle class is the availability of consumer goods. It's only in the past few decades that cars and credit cards have become commonplace in Brazil. Home telephones didn't become available until the late 1970s, and there was a years-long waiting list with the only phone company, which was owned and operated by the government.

Not until the early 1990s did President Fernando Collor open Brazil's doors to consumer imports. Today, Internet shopping recently has arrived, opening further still the ability to consume. Brazilians living in isolated rural areas can now purchase items for delivery from companies in São Paulo, the largest city and economic hub of Brazil. The arrival of the middle class and the ease of shopping has triggered new horizons. A rising economy brings additional purchasing power, which triggers the explosion of consumer desire.

Consumer appetites are now extending beyond goods. It's only in the past few decades that middle-class Brazilians could afford to fly. Previously, few Brazilians from the South traveled to the North because the distance was too great and the roads unreliable. Now traveling to distant lands, even inside Brazil, people are exposed to new ways of seeing the world.

Adults traveling are not the only ones expanding their horizons. Public education has become compulsory and accessible for all children. Without access to education or books, it's less likely to be exposed to new ideas. Today, all of these factors are converging – education, travel, and a wide availability of consumer goods – in Brazil for the dawn of a new era.

While Brazil comes face-to-face with a new way of looking at the world, it's critical to consider what the country is leaving behind. Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery. By the time it was abolished, in 1888, an estimated four million slaves had been imported from Africa to Brazil, 40 percent of the total number of slaves brought to the Americas. Unlike in the US where slaves were only utilized in one part of the country, slavery was spread throughout Brazil, and the 19th century economy depended heavily on its free labor.

Brazil entered the 20th century very much as it had entered the 19th and 18th, with a pre-industrial or “natural” economy. A natural economy relies more heavily on manual labor than machine labor and automation. Besides limiting an economy's growth and inhibiting consumerism, a natural economy has other significant characteristics. A country's economy, how its goods and services are produced and exchanged, affects every aspect of a country's organization. Economics dictates people's lives. The economy arranges how people interact, what they eat and wear, daily habits, etc.

A natural economy differs dramatically from an industrialized economy. The former is slower to change and less flexible. Rituals are passed down from generation to generation, governing everything from religion to food preparation. In Brazil, the dominant presence of the Catholic Church and a close-knit family structure have contributed to a slower pace of life and the less frequent introduction of new ideas. In a natural economy, there is little emphasis on consumerism and the accumulation of wealth. Familial and spiritual concerns take center stage.

A living example of a natural economy is Brazil's (and all the Americas) earliest inhabitants – native indigenous people. These “primitive” tribes, some of whom still exist in the Amazon region, provide a perfect view of a natural economy. In it, nothing is consumed beyond the absolutely necessary. Men and women work only to provide themselves with food and shelter. With favorable weather and hunting conditions, native cultures can work 10-20 hours a week, spending the rest of their time in leisure. Leisure time is available for parenting, as well as the dance/music of celebrations and rituals, such as boys entering manhood.

Developed countries like the US continually exhibit signs of an over-worked population. The richer a country is, the greater availability of goods there is, which creates greater consumer desire. Consumer lust prevails in wealthy countries. The desire to own more requires greater wealth, which requires increased work.

Perhaps this consideration of a natural economy versus a consumer economy can offer some insight into why North Americans view South Americans as lazy or less productive. Leisure time, whether it is spent making music or playing with one's children, is considered more important than work in a natural economy. Brazilians are closer to a natural economy than North Americans. Brazilians are mere amateur consumers in comparison, but for how long?