| The Origins of Consumerism: Hint, it wasn't our idea...
May 12, 2008
We've all seen the gloom'n'doom reports on the insidiousness of consumerism. But in my view not all that much is done to show another way to live, that is, in a way that doesn't involve buying into various "us/them" mindsets. For what it's worth OYB gives its take on another way.
But reminders about how we came to be like we are in this country still seem to be occasionally in order. Especially when those reminders aren't just the usual.
Here's a link to an article in Orion magazine that gives the big picture but then focuses in on how consumerism actually all came down. It reveals that it was a definite political agenda.
Consumerism is how industrialists kept power and suppressed the liberty of the nation and by extension the world. And these industrialists are keeping their message strong, hoping to bring the rest of the world on board. At least for as long as they can.
Why isn't the market emphasis on sufficiency and leisure? Because if it was then the plants might go idle. Or, that's the fear. If sufficiency was the emphasis then because half the world is still in need you'd think the plants would keep running just fine. But if leisure were to gain a foothold anywhere, the leaders of the consumerist elite know that radicalism would be sure to follow. Yet leisure is the natural result of technology. So how is thwarted? And why can't anyone just be allowed to live in peace on less themselves? Find out... (I do think that some of this story isn't standard-line and will come as news, which is why I link to it. There's some interesting history in it. Whodathunk that Kellogg was a big player in this deal.)
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