Quote of the Day
"Capitalism ... is adept at turning luxuries into necessities - bringing to the masses what the elites have always enjoyed. But the flip side of this genius is that people come to take for granted things they once conveted from afar. Frills they never thought they could have become essentials that they cannot do without. People are stuck on a treadmill: as they acheive a better standard of living, they become inured to its pleasures."
- from the december 23rd edition of The Economist, on Happiness. (yes im behind in reading.)
Its only after these types of realizations that capitalist theory begins to break down, showing clear faults and fallacious reasoning. Instead of always wanting the new, want the solution. When our relationship with product is allowed to change, evolving into (and, in many ways, returning to) a utility based "use not own" premise, we can begin to disassociate things we once thought intrinsically linked. Pleasure does not need to be weighed down by the constraints of ownership, and thus climbing the social rank, with newer and more elite experiences and purchase becomes a moot point, from a bygone era. We will become free to explore what 'pleasure' means to each of us, on an individual level, yet independant of what is taught to us as 'pleasure' (newer home, better neighborhood, faster car, better paying job, etc).
But capitalism is self-serving - nearly perpetually - and designed to not let our relationship with products mature, for fear of derailing its symbiotic relationship with the consumer; fueling its own addiction to sales, it maintains its clients addiction through teaching (advertising, branding and marketing), which in turn, maintains its hegemony on the concept of "world economy."
In 100 years, I would interested to read what the Economist talks about, how it would adress "the emerging economy" (because phrases like that, i can imagine, will always be used to describe the current economic condition), and how they might describe the role of economy in life. With the changes that are happening now, i can promise the socio-political economy of 100 years will be miles away from our current position.
- from the december 23rd edition of The Economist, on Happiness. (yes im behind in reading.)
Its only after these types of realizations that capitalist theory begins to break down, showing clear faults and fallacious reasoning. Instead of always wanting the new, want the solution. When our relationship with product is allowed to change, evolving into (and, in many ways, returning to) a utility based "use not own" premise, we can begin to disassociate things we once thought intrinsically linked. Pleasure does not need to be weighed down by the constraints of ownership, and thus climbing the social rank, with newer and more elite experiences and purchase becomes a moot point, from a bygone era. We will become free to explore what 'pleasure' means to each of us, on an individual level, yet independant of what is taught to us as 'pleasure' (newer home, better neighborhood, faster car, better paying job, etc).
But capitalism is self-serving - nearly perpetually - and designed to not let our relationship with products mature, for fear of derailing its symbiotic relationship with the consumer; fueling its own addiction to sales, it maintains its clients addiction through teaching (advertising, branding and marketing), which in turn, maintains its hegemony on the concept of "world economy."
In 100 years, I would interested to read what the Economist talks about, how it would adress "the emerging economy" (because phrases like that, i can imagine, will always be used to describe the current economic condition), and how they might describe the role of economy in life. With the changes that are happening now, i can promise the socio-political economy of 100 years will be miles away from our current position.
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