December 3, 2008
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Materialism
Why do we tend to define ourselves and others by their material possessions? What part does materialism play in your life?
I suspect our over-dependance on bling as a means of classifying a persons worth and social standing is in part because we are a very mobile society. Most of us Americans move to new locations or into new social circles fairly frequently - often with no links to the new situation. That and the lack of an established aristocracy lead us to identify the others we meet by the apparent social standing indicated by their possessions. Lower class people tend to look first at shoes as an indication of where their acquaintances fit, for example. The other social classes use shoes, clothing, car, house type and location, and so on. It's not surprising that "Keeping up with the Jones's" has become a national pastime and has become an almost universal habit. No doubt it is a major factor in the absurd levels of outstanding personal debt and the near collapse of our entire credit-based financial system - right down to the retail level.
Personally, I feel disgustingly virtuous regarding this attitude. My wife and I have always been under-clothed, under-housed, and under-autoed for our entire married life. This is, I suspect, in part because we were brought up during the Great Depression but it is mainly because we have always followed the "Measure the Pleasure" doctrine and cared little for other's attitudes and judgments.
An amusing example: My wife was looking for a new pair of comfortable shoes. the most comfortable she could find were Mephistos. We were amazed at the comments of her pretty well heeled (sic) friends - many of whom immediately noticed them. They (the shoes) wore out pretty quickly and she did not get another pair as she considered them of inferior quality.
Our rule for Christmas presents: "If you can't eat it, wear it, or Drink it, don't buy it. We have too much stuff already"
Comments (11)
Let's face it - you're cheap is the reason you don't buy more stuff.
I've linked you
I think the primary reason we look at the "bling" of others is that, as a species, we like to hang with people who are similar to ourselves in education and social status. We use the "bling factor" as a yardstick of sorts. Discriminatory? Of course! But we do judge people on many levels, and this is one of them.
I often hear people make the comment that they: "Should cut down on the stuff they buy" or "Save more - spend less" but they seem to find it very hard to carry these intentions out - sort of like vowing to quit smoking or lose weight.
Are there any factors in our Western Society that make saving or overcoming impulse buying so difficult?
@tychecat - "Are there any factors in our Western Society that make saving or overcoming impulse buying so difficult?"
I think I would remove the word "western" from that question, for all western countries do not behave the same way. As for the rest, I think in the U.S. the older generation has created a younger generation that never had to work for anything and hasn't had to do without 'til now. That makes the younger generation one that expects to have everything they want when they want it.
Dear Dick,
Thank you for dropping by my blog and leaving such an informative comment. I'd almost forgot about "Mr Bug Goes to Town". I have all the Betty Boop cartoons on tape (they never got around to releasing them on DVD or laserdisc.) I've got one really great Popeye DVD, with the black and white shorts, and I understand that King Features just released a DVD of the color cartoons from the 40s. I have a DVD and tape of Gulliver's Travels, still one of my favorite movies of all time, but it was mastered from a public domain print and is not in very good shape.
I wager all the cells you mentioned in your comment would be worth a small foturne. You might even have been able to buy snappy new shoes and keep up with the Joneses a little more if you could have laid your hands on that stuff and sold it. (I would have kept them, natch.) I have three Betty Boop sericels drawn by Myron Waldman, a Betty Boop animator from the 30s, who is in his 90s. I paid a premium for them, back when I was more flush with cash, (but hope I never have to sell any of my Betty Boop collectibles.)
Now to segue into an actual comment about your entry.
I grew up in the late 50s-60s, and got out of college in 74. I've never married, and used to have a lot of extra cash to spend lasciviously on "toys". I'm an "early adopter" and got video players as soon as they appeared in the early 80s. I just bought my latest HD television, a monster 60" widescreen (on credit) because my last one broke down. I've got the same favorite movies on Beta, VHS, laserdisc, and DVD. I also collected CED videodiscs, a now forgotten analog video delivery system, but all 184 discs were stolen from the storage facility where I kept them long ago.
I read about how teenage rites of passage, like the prom, are now nothing more than showcases for "bling", and as the world goes deeper and deeper in debt, the kids all think that designer clothes and accessories are not only desired, but NEEDED for status and popularity.
It looks like America could very well plunge deep into depression again. I would guess that $500.00 pairs of shoes and handbags will not be so readily available when people are standing in bread lines. Perhaps this will be a "cultural correction". Outside of America, the world is slowly going hungry. Zimbabwe used to be the "breadbasket of Africa" and now is being beset not only by hunger, but by a cholera epidemic!
It will be interesting to see what happens next. (But I still hope I don't have to sell off my collectibles.)
Thanks again for the visit. I'll try to participate more in the Socrates Cafe group in 2009.
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
Michael F. Nyiri, poet, philosopher, fool
Mike's collection of blogsites is very interesting. I urge a visit.
If nothing else, the present economic downturn seems to have alerted us a little more toward the world situation.
Maybe Geography will make a comeback - and you'll all know where Muckle Flugga is
Tychecat,
Do you think Marx's disgust with Russia's take on his ideas is akin to what Nietzche would feel about Hitler's take on his?
Pilgrim - Probably not. Apparently Marx was mostly concerned by the Bolshevik insistence on rigid adherence to their concept of the dialectic and refusal to allow the dialectic process to continue. He also didn't like their undemocratic attitude.
Nietzche on the other hand, Would have approved of Hitler's tactics right up until the collapse of the Nazi movement. Nietzche was a sad misogynist, much dominated by his mother and sisters and rather bitter at what he thought were personal failures.
He would, I think, have decided that the Nazis were not supermen or they would not have been so soundly defeated. Basically he thought "anything goes" in the power struggle and I don't think he would have been concerned about any actions of the Nazis against "inferior people" as long as they triumphed. Remember, Nietzche's version of morality - which was central to his entire life's work; was based on the "Will to Power", by which he meant the fearless struggle - both physical and intellectual - until the "Will to Power" was achieved.
If you haven't read Thus Spake Zarathustra, you might find it interesting - but be warned: Most of us give up around page 15.
But isn't it true that Nietzche had a falling out with one of his closest friends, Wagner, because he felt his music was too nationalistic, and he did not approve of the anti-semiticism that Wagner was always spouting off in conversation?
Also one of Nietzche's listed examples of supermen was Spinoza, a thinker that at one point almost became a Rabbi.
Pilgrim: Probably the closest you are going to come in modern exponents of Nietzche's pecular view of morality are the "Objectivist" followers of Ayn Rand.
I'm sure you must have read at least one of her books (The most readable is Anthem - it's also the shortest). I used to use that one for advanced HS class discussions
Nietzche may have admired Spinoza, but I don't think the admiration would have been shared
What’s up, just wanted to say, I enjoyed this post. It was practical. Keep on posting!