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Subject: Post-consumerism Society: What?
What does a post-consumerism culture look like? What would we do, what would our goals be?
It seems obvious to me that our society is based on an earn/consume treadmill. We earn money to buy stuff, and once the basics are sorted (food, clothing, shelter) we turn our aspiring eyes t'ward more frivolous things: cars, TVs, phones. The more we earn, the more we spend: our houses get bigger, our toys fancier, our cars faster.
It also seems obvious to me that we cannot maintain this treadmill indefinitely. More and more people are coming online as earners and consumers, and good golly, it's expensive keeping them entertained. In terms of money and resources we're a decidedly wasteful bunch of idiots, and it's really got to stop.
My question is: what does a post-consumerism society look like? What would we do? I struggle to imagine what it would mean to me if I suddenly didn't have newer, bigger toys to look forward to. I wonder too about the slobbering masses, the great unwashed, the ferals I share my air with. They can barely walk and chew gum, what are they going to do if suddenly freed from this treadmill?
I imagine sprawling townships filled with people forced to interact with each other, who create civic events and sit around cafe tables talking about things. It seems a frivolous thing to do, living without achieving, without grabbing each trinket as a marker of success. I wonder about these people: I think they'd be happy, but I wonder if they would accomplish any more than we are accomplishing now, sitting at home on our couches with our laptops, watching our TVs.
If you take away my landmarks, I wonder where I'd be.
It seems obvious to me that our society is based on an earn/consume treadmill. We earn money to buy stuff, and once the basics are sorted (food, clothing, shelter) we turn our aspiring eyes t'ward more frivolous things: cars, TVs, phones. The more we earn, the more we spend: our houses get bigger, our toys fancier, our cars faster.
It also seems obvious to me that we cannot maintain this treadmill indefinitely. More and more people are coming online as earners and consumers, and good golly, it's expensive keeping them entertained. In terms of money and resources we're a decidedly wasteful bunch of idiots, and it's really got to stop.
My question is: what does a post-consumerism society look like? What would we do? I struggle to imagine what it would mean to me if I suddenly didn't have newer, bigger toys to look forward to. I wonder too about the slobbering masses, the great unwashed, the ferals I share my air with. They can barely walk and chew gum, what are they going to do if suddenly freed from this treadmill?
I imagine sprawling townships filled with people forced to interact with each other, who create civic events and sit around cafe tables talking about things. It seems a frivolous thing to do, living without achieving, without grabbing each trinket as a marker of success. I wonder about these people: I think they'd be happy, but I wonder if they would accomplish any more than we are accomplishing now, sitting at home on our couches with our laptops, watching our TVs.
If you take away my landmarks, I wonder where I'd be.
BLEARGH