A Materialistic Society?

[kit]

Perhaps materialism is caused because it makes us feel special.

No, really. When we get new things, attention flows to us. Everyone seems to adore us with our designer clothing and other materialistic items. Things for us make us feel like we have all that we need- they comfort us. They reflect attention to us.

And people like attention, and when we like something, we want more of it. We need to buy more things to get more attention, and we get greedy.

Materialism supposedly provides all that we need in order to be noticed, and perhaps distinguish ourselves from others.

We are comforted by the "goods" available in todays society. They act as a blanket for us.

I think that you've put your finger on the nub of the problem , Honeybunch ,
BUT , how much are we in control of our own destiny and free will , and how much of a slave are we to the lure of those ' Oh so captivating glossy magazine adverts ? '

Man cannot live by HERMES alone , although I wouldn't mind giving it a bloody good try .

Much truth in your second comment .

 

[Lena]

To add more to that:

Maybe it can work the opposite way. Instead of shedding attention to us, materialistic goods may be a way of sub-conciously hiding who ourselves really are. They can be a mask- designer clothing (just as an example) may be a way to show that we have "status."

It can change our identity... temporarily...

instant karma for em

 

[Mr-Dale]

It can change our identity... temporarily...

Yes, yes, yes...all very true...karma!

 

[em 692]

BUT , how much are we in control of our own destiny and free will , and how much of a slave are we to the lure of those ' Oh so captivating glossy magazine adverts ? '

We are slaves to the advertisments, because the items in them give us attention.

Many people find themselves too often to be slaves to these types of things, and thats what makes this a problem. A lack of self-control.

 

[em 692]

Thanks, Mr. Dale and Lena (for the karma)

 

[Lena]

Many people find themselves too often to be slaves to these types of things, and thats what makes this a problem. A lack of self-control.

Dare I say.. rather a lack of self-respect, the need for a 'borrowed' identity, the social mask

 

[em 692]

^True... people should be comfortable with who they are. It has much to do with self-respect and self-confidence.

 

[shoexgal]

hopefully we can all just realize these things and incorporate them into our lives to be less materialistic..even though I started this thread i still find it hard to not do so

 

[em 692]

The hardest part of trying not to be more materialistic is the fact that some people are just so used to it, it's like an addiction- you can't just stop.

 

[shoexgal]

i think it becomes natural t00 ^^

 

[Mr-Dale]

Lots of people don't even realise that they are materialistc, when they obviously are. Somehow people should be taught how to spot it and then fight it. That is, if we want to get rid of this materialstic behaviour. But of course, a better world starts with yourself.

 

[Keili]

I agree to that Mr-Dale, a lot of people just don't know what it is even. But I think the question is, do we want to get rid of this phenomena. Is it realy that bad and what difference would it make if it would be gone?
I'm sorry if these q's have been discussed before here, but I didn't have time to read through 12 pages of long long posts

 

[em 692]

Origninally Posted by Keili
I think the question is, do we want to get rid of this phenomena. Is it realy that bad and what difference would it make if it would be gone?

Yes, we should talk about the harmful side-affects of materialism.

 

[Paullw]

Global warming? For the rest of the world to have a lifestyle even similar to ours will mean that electricity production will need to increase by 400%, without taking into account further growth. Thats in developing countries, who can't necesarily afford renewable energy for various reasons.

Exploitation. Nike has 350 new designs every year, to satisfy our demand for new fashions. That means that a huge amount of the price of each shoe goes into R&D, so production costs have to be cut. Nike doesn't even own the factories that its shoes are produced in, this is so that they can move production easily, as soon as there is somewhere cheaper they pull out.

Our advertising has made it into the minds of people across the globe, everyone wants a western lifestyle, they think its only fair that they live as we do, which is true. However, if we are overly materialistic, they will want as much as we have, that cannot be sustainable without huge leaps in technology.

 

[em 692]

Paullw... you are making me worry about what the world will be like in 20 years!! We're going to run out of resources... horrible pollution... it's awful what materialsim can do.

And people think, "Oh, what can a little harmless shopping do?"

A lot.

 

[Lena]

But I think the question is, do we want to get rid of this phenomena. Is it realy that bad and what difference would it make if it would be gone?

it would make a difference in how we decide to spend money, where and when and why...
*for some people uber-consuption is almost a 'mania' a kind of distructive obsession, they dont just 'need' new three pair of shoes/bags/whatever each season, they need thirteen new pairs >including the nessary 'IT' looks they saw this or that 'celebrity' wearing< in order to get all the security they need to 'survive' the season ..
*we could choose to spend only on things we really need or 'attract' our eye out od sheer luxury, regardless the 'label', the 'get it or be uncool' sticker, the media/adv. brainwashing or the publicity blizard out there (ads, socialites, peers)
*we could concentrate more in 'political correct' consumer behaviour

i guess it could make some difference, its what i call conscious consumption

 

[Paullw]

I think people are intelligent enough that eventually enough of us will realise before things get really bad for us. Its whether we realise that things are already really bad for much of the rest of the world.

I just read that around 3.7 billion people live on less than US$2 a day, nearly half of the world's population, and a further 1 billion on less than US$1 a day. 2-3 million children a year die of malaria in Africa, because they can't afford mosquito nets that cost 86p (about $1). Its all so much that you can't really understand the numbers.

 

[Lena]

disturbing but true paullw

 

[kit]

it would make a difference in how we decide to spend money, where and when and why...
*for some people uber-consuption is almost a 'mania' a kind of distructive obsession, they dont just 'need' new three pair of shoes/bags/whatever each season, they need thirteen new pairs >including the nessary 'IT' looks they saw this or that 'celebrity' wearing< in order to get all the security they need to 'survive' the season ..
*we could choose to spend only on things we really need or 'attract' our eye out od sheer luxury, regardless the 'label', the 'get it or be uncool' sticker, the media/adv. brainwashing or the publicity blizard out there (ads, socialites, peers)
*we could concentrate more in 'political correct' consumer behaviour

i guess it could make some difference, its what i call conscious consumption

Unfortunately , conspicuous consumption is the economic basis upon which western capitalism is predicated .

I consume , therefore I am .

I don't wish to get political , but I lean to the left in politics and I utterly applaud the French in saying ' NO ' to the Anglo-Saxon deregulated capitalism espoused by Tony Blair and others of ' the third way ' .

The French want a fair society in which EVERYONE has a fair crack of the whip , NOT the labour market free-for-all that obtains in the UK and will soon do so in Germany , under Angela Markel , with everybody utterly afraid for their pensions , whose pots they have contributed to over a lifetime's hard graft . They call it economic realism , but there's precious little reality with all the industrial fat-cats with millions in their pots and countless share options to add that little extra spice to their retirement. ' We've got ours , and may the devil take the hindmost ' would seem to be the new economic orthdoxy .

There is three trillion pounds of personal debt in the UK , raised on the phenomenon of house price inflation and the consequent borrowing based on equity release and STILL Selfridges and Harvey Nicks in Manchester , are FULL TO THE GUNNELS with suckers of ladies buying two or three must-have handbags and at least two new season's outfits , while their husbands drool over their newly leased Porsche Cayenne SUV Turbo .

This SO fits in with the boys and the hoodie thread , as those who are on the outside of this pumped up cash affluence , are the ones whose resentment will fester for the rest of their ' everything of second best ' lives , lived in squalor , hunched up in ther protective personal space inside the hoodie . It's also at the root of ' chav ' phenomenon , as those with access to borrowing , but little idea of making their lives comfortable , splurge all their cash on the showy and the ' naff ' . I feel for such misguided people as I hope that I am far from being a snob , but I despair of their intransigence when it comes to looking out for themselves both politically and socially .

It's GOT to end sometime , but I don't see this South Sea Bubble of borrowing and debt disappearing into the ether any time soon , both worryingly and unfortunately .

Although I COULD be wrong .

I think that the circumspect solution is to preserve one's conscience and TRY to live as ethical a life as possible .

 

[diorhomme]

i totally agree. how did i ever get like this . i used to be happy to have a family and everything. and now...... im teriible. Like i obsessede over creme de la mer for about 2 weeks and once i got it.. i saw something else and then wanted that. I sincerely want to stop