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Cha, I think this consumerism talk is true, but only half of the story.
Poverty is not fun, and in the UK is especially horrible. Some people work two jobs to keep their head above water, it is not even a "race" for status, but just to not fall down.
The economic disparities/problems with wealth hoarding, yep totally agree. But we are just the end-users. Even if we don't care about showing off/a rat race our pensions and everything are shrinking (I am late 30s and seeing it already) This chat on "we are so materialistic" feels a little bit like blaming the user.
Now if the user keeps voting for political parties that go against their interest cha...the user perhaps should go more on youtube/wikipedia and less on the daily mail/sun :)
JWestland-
This chat on "we are so materialistic" feels a little bit like blaming the user.
Not at all. We're essentially brainwashed and distracted from 1. the things that genuinely matter in life and 2. what is really going on that has resulted in the state we're in today
Poverty is horrific. As is loneliness, homelessness, sickness and old age. Having been wealthy/ successful and homeless, penniless I can tell you that you can't take anything for granted and the world is a cold, harsh place and one person forgotten and marginalised is too many.
Political parties are a problem in lack of vision and serving interests besides electorate (electorate not always knowing what's best for them is a problem too which requires a clear and credible vision and effective communication). At least Brexit has started breaking down the party structures and perhaps we'll end up with something more akin to Sweden which will prevent hegemonic abuse of electorates by a government.
welpeur
Sure. As well as the lies sold to make everyone consuming products, lifestyles etc in a vain attempt to fill the emptiness inside while at the same time making the rich richer!
Life has become horrific and completely detached from how we should live and our fear is being unable to exist if we do not conform, 'getting left behind' of 'getting ahead' justifies all kinds of wrongs and misery.
The 'race' is in large part due to the control of assets by a relative few and the existence of fractional reserve banking. A refusal by gov't to ever allow an elite to suffer a loss with the impact on real economy affecting everyone being the justification for bubble-blowing allowing asset prices to continually inflate ever further (and when the occasional hit happens, losses are socialised). Check out multiples of salary for the cost of ownership of a home for example from say 40y ago to now..
Competition in 'free' markets as an argument for efficiency and advancement is fallacious as it leads to a massive replication of effort and waste of resource. Capitalism is inherently inefficient.