The age of the consumer (the death of the individual)

[Skeeter]

Capitalism has done good things as far as the development of science and technology go. One great travesty of Capitalism, however, is that it has led to a sort of consumerism that leads people to go through life like zombies. All they do is consume, consume, consume.

Ads for this, ads for that. Many people don't even LIVE anymore. The constant consuming of food, television, movies, porn, or just some random fad serves to distract people from really looking inside themselves and contemplating their inner selves and their very existence.

Then people talk about "motivation" and the drive for "success." All this translates to is being a good little cog in the machine. It means working 10 hours days for your invisible boss. It means trying to accumulate monetary and material wealth so you look good for the invisible judges of society. The general sense of motivation and success nowadays is very perverted and corrupt.

 

[lonewolf]

its called "the consumer society", if we don't consume things and buy more the system would collapse.

 

[Skeeter]

its called "the consumer society", if we don't consume things and buy more the system would collapse.

Well the system is terrible for the individual and many are just zombies anyway. The system will eventually collapse anyway if it keeps in the current direction.

 

[Gazrok]

Personally, I do things because they make me happy. If I'm not happy doing it, I look for ways out of it. I mean sure, I work far away from home, but it's not bad work at all. The commute is the downside. But, it allows me to afford the things we find fun.

My wife and I like doing things like going to Sci-Fi conventions and meeting celebs from shows and movies we like. We enjoy dressing up in armor and going to the local Ren Fests. We like going to theme parks. We like good food, and nice hotels, etc.

So, we DO these things. Not for some judging, but because WE enjoy them. At home, we have lots of animals because we love animals.

If consumerism is upsetting you, there is nobody forcing you to participate. I mean, we have a house with fairly new appliances (less than 6 years), nice top end furniture (ornate wood, etc.), but that's because those things made us happy (and the house had none of it. Then again, I drive a 20yr old truck. Sure, I'd love a new one, but it's hard for me to spend a ton of money on something when I already have the need solved.

So, simply put, we consume the things we enjoy, period. Not at the behest of any others.

 

[Tonto_]

very true. It's important to make sure you have hobbies and goals that don't involve making a lot of money.

 

[Squirtgunsquirter]

We can only consume up until a point. That point being when population growth has reached a level that resources are depleted, and some things become unavailable. Some day people may look back at this time as a " golden age" of resources and wealth.

I just want to live in a trailer, and have a nice garden and some bees and chickens. Not rabbits though. I felt too bad killing them.

My wife and I don't consume much, the condo is small, we like living small. True, I do daily drive the 72 Cobra Jet Ranchero, but I had to give the explorer to the daughter. So my gas consumption is not doing the world any favors, but hey. I don't claim to be an eco warrior/savior of the earth. Just a regular, Midwestern river rat getting by.

 

[Maverick]

Its safe to say for us 65~70% is consumed on needs healthcare electricity fuel food feed vet and vehicle maintenance etc... but that can sway one way or another the other 30~35 is consumed on wants, hobbies travel entertainment etc... Our internet is provided by WSU/USGS (limited for me) we don't pay for it, wife works from home over 65% of the time. Most of the spare money is spent on the grandkids I think.

We keep a 'wants list' up on the board and if anyone of us has spare cash, we all check the board before heading into town and if see's it they will purchase it. People I know are fairly frugal with the money, accessibility are primary reason for consumer waste and more and more products have short MTF therefore needs to be replaced on top of that we have more youths entering the consumers market compared to 40yrs ago and it's them the markets are selling too.

Kids today growing up in an era of abundance and accessibility Vs my time when it can take months to get an item that was ordered that's if you can find a place to order from, other times we would have to cut out of a magazine order slip, send a check and wait two month if not longer. things sure have changed from snail mail to instant access. In some ways I miss those days.

 

[Gazrok]

I actually like making money from my hobbies. I draw, paint, and make cakes (learned that from my mother, so just handy), and we've made money off all of these hobbies at one time or another.

I'm clearing out our tack shop inventory to then use the space for doing scrapbooking crops (wife's hobby), and Paint and Sip classes (like Painting with a Twist) (my hobby, painting) on some weekends, starting in the summer.

Now, will any of this get us rich? No. But, if it pays enough to make it worthwhile, then we have some fun, and make some scratch at the same time. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Gazrok]

In some ways I miss those days.

Oh not me! I love ordering something from Amazon and getting it 2 days later. What a miraculous age we live in. While I prepare for the worst, I really don't want to say goodbye to modern conveniences.

 

[Mountain trapper]

I consume what I want and need based on what I can afford. I imagine that's the way most people do things. What's wrong with that? I don't pay any attention to ads, I already know what my interests are and order catalogs from these companies.

 

[Skeeter]

One example where values get mixed up as a result of this consumerism thing is how the funds available for athletic scholarships at colleges absolutely dwarfs that available for academic scholarships. Some dumbo who has no intention of ever learning a thing can get a full ride scholarship to an academic institution while a person who intends to study hard and become a medical professional, engineer, writer, etc has to take out huge loans.

 

[Maverick]

One example where values get mixed up as a result of this consumerism thing is how the funds available for athletic scholarships at colleges absolutely dwarfs that available for academic scholarships. Some dumbo who has no intention of ever learning a thing can get a full ride scholarship to an academic institution while a person who intends to study hard and become a medical professional, engineer, writer, etc has to take out huge loans.

No argument here. though a good number still get degrees and some receive degrees after the sports career is over. for majority it's the quick buck and public status.

 

[Squirtgunsquirter]

"The problem of the house, is the problem of the epoch. The equilibrium of society today depends upon it.
Architecture has as its first duty, in this period of renewal, that of bringing about a revision of values,
a revision of the constituent elements of the house.
We must create the mass production spirit." - Charles - Edouard Jeanneret, French architect and urban planner, 1887 - 1965

He believed that cities had to be redesigned to make maximum use of mass production, and encourage consumerism, in order
to improve the quality of life of inner city residents. He was a fascist and a socialist (believing that government intervention was
necessary to force people to live in a planned environment), and influential in the design of later US housing projects.

The housing projects he helped design, are now being torn down. We can thank him partly for the US mega city designs we have today,
with banks and government buildings in the center surrounded by housing blocks. Think Chicago and Cabrini Green.

"Consumerism" has been around for a long time. Right now, it is the US growth engine, if there is one. If everyone stopped buying, it would
be a SHTF event. I'm not saying I'm for it, as a pillar of the economy, but there it is.

Imagine that. Designing cities to "lock" people into an area, and force them to work, live, and buy, right there. This was before the internet. Makes me wonder how bus routes are "planned" in Madison...

One more reason to leave the city, just to give their plans the middle finger.

 

[Gazrok]

Some dumbo who has no intention of ever learning a thing can get a full ride scholarship to an academic institution while a person who intends to study hard and become a medical professional, engineer, writer, etc has to take out huge loans.

While I'd agree on the surface, you aren't getting the big picture here.

Sports, is the key to alumni loyalty, and more importantly....MONEY.

So, when the chemistry class gets new lab stuff, or the band gets new instruments, or the astronomy class gets a new telescope, this is largely from alumni funding, which is all driven by continued interest in sports.

So, winning team = more alumni money. THAT is why they do it. It's all about getting that former student money.

 

[Skeeter]

Another example of the consumer mentality comes with binge watching TV shows, or playing video games.

Somehow the consumer is tricked into they are accomplishing something by finishing a Netflix series or achieving a certain level in a video game.

When in reality, all they have done is to escape reality and turn their brain off for an extended period. This leads to atrophy of the thinking part of the brain.

 

[Tonto_]

Another example of the consumer mentality comes with binge watching TV shows, or playing video games.

Somehow the consumer is tricked into they are accomplishing something by finishing a Netflix series or achieving a certain level in a video game.

When in reality, all they have done is to escape reality and turn their brain off for an extended period. This leads to atrophy of the thinking part of the brain.

Good point Skeeter. I sometimes get something out of my television/movie watching though, as I have sometimes been inspired to make a change in my life after watching.