It seems that most people are always thinking about buying something new. Whether it be cars, cell phones, expensive jeans, Lacoste shirts, Louis Vuitton bags, Nike sneakers, video games, plasma televisions, sunglasses, etc. Do most people just work to buy all this "stuff"? Is that what life has become about?
2006-09-10 02:23:34 · 15 answers · asked by Federico 3 in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
'Civilization is mass producing unnecessary products and conditioning people to believe they need them' Karl Marx.
2006-09-10 02:27:19 · answer #1 · answered by Ya-sai 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
How can you expect otherwise with all the advertising we are exposed to? Americans are considered "consumers" in every financial view of the status of the country. We are constantly bombarded with ads saying "do this," "eat this," "buy this," and you will be instantly popular, envied by your friends and neighbors, and very, very happy.
And it is all a lie that is just robbing us of our income and leaving us feeling dissatisfied with life and not sure why.
It can't continue. We are now a nation that saves nothing. And we are up to our ears in debt with the recent housing "bubble" when everyone refinanced and got home equity loans to get money from the inflated values of their houses.
Ask yourself if you are really unaffected by our consumerism mentality when you look at someone on television, dressed in smart (expensive) clothes and you find yourself thinking "ah, that must be a smart, successful man/woman."
2006-09-10 03:03:20 · answer #2 · answered by Travlin' Grama 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yep, people work so they can buy expenseive "showy" things, but if you ever know someone like this they are cheap when it comes to stuff others can't really notice. For example, they'll buy that over priced, over sized Escalade, but they will do all their shopping at Walmart, and cheap out on Christmas and birthday presents. Seems to all be about competition and "I'm better than you.". Pretty evident on the highway, when that 10MPG SUV flies by at 90MPH, with one passenger.
2006-09-10 02:31:26 · answer #3 · answered by JONES99679 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Media every where bombarding people with this kind of stuff, that "you must own this", "you must have that", "must have items" in order to be "cool" or to be "in" and making us believe that when we buy this "in" stuff we will be happy and it'll makes our lives more easier. Also this thing called celebrity worship, some people think they must also have what ever their idols have, etc. etc. Celebrities are like walking commercial, people scrutinizing what brand of clothes, car, perfume, sun glasses or whatever celebrities have or use.
2006-09-10 03:10:25 · answer #4 · answered by Dawn Treader 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Honestly, I don't know that most people live in this manner: this is what ads and celebrity gossip magazines spout as ideal. Most people I know (and they all have good jobs) are much more interested in their relationships with one another, learning, and all of us live simply. Perhaps this is more common among younger people who don't have a stable career yet: there is nothing so appealing as what we think we want but can't yet have :-)
2006-09-10 18:15:38 · answer #5 · answered by j14456um 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I's basically a way to compenstate for lack of emotional and spiritual fulfillment, and is perpetuated by cultural norms. People are stuffed in the head.
2006-09-10 02:26:58 · answer #6 · answered by corpuscollossus 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Life is about obtaining happiness. Lots of people think that they can obtain happiness through materialism.
I believe that this is just a superficial way to cover-up your true self.
2006-09-10 02:28:20 · answer #7 · answered by Michael M 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't have enough money to buy that stuff so, I wouldn't know what I'd buy if I did have extra money. But, what do you spend your extra money on? What is your life all about? --Just curious--
2006-09-10 02:25:52 · answer #8 · answered by .vato. 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
People like shiny things.
2006-09-10 02:25:23 · answer #9 · answered by laurafransmail 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Its what we buy into..the measure of our success.
2006-09-10 04:19:41 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋