Consumerism/materialism destroyed this country

[Kievan Rus]

If there is one thing that destroyed the United States in the past thirty to forty years, it is consumerism and materialism. The abject desire to acquire as many material possessions as possible, regardless of whether one actually needs them, whether one truly wants them, and whether one can actually afford them or not.

Consumerism absolutely destroyed our economy. It is the primary reason why the vast majority of our good manufacturing jobs were sent overseas to sweatshops where the average worker makes a quarter an hour. It is the primary reason why many river towns in and around Pittsburgh (my hometown) that used to have a manufacturing base that provided jobs are full of abandoned factories, abandoned storefronts, and abandoned homes. Thanks to Corporate America's peddling of consumerism and the public's willingness to accept what the corporations peddled, good-paying manufacturing jobs were shipped overseas in order to quench America's thirst for as many material possessions as possible. When it comes to consumerism, its materialism isn't even usually about quality, it's more about quantity. Due in large part to corporate programming, people want stuff, and a lot of it. Therefore, cheap, low-quality junk made in a foreign sweatshop wins out over decent-quality American products.

Consumerism and materialism also caused the economic collapse. The collapse was based in bad mortgages and speculation in said bad mortgages, which ultimately led to the economic collapse. Much of suburban culture, especially in the newer developments, provides a textbook definition of consumerism and materialism. Many of the houses in modern developments are cookie-cutter McMansions often with several gas-guzzlers parked in the parking lot. Said McMansions are filled to the brim with shiny gadgets and material possessions that often don't last more than two years, either because the products are poor-quality sweatshop crap or their owners tire of them. And it's not uncommon that the people living in said developments are unable to truly afford the McMansions and the gas guzzlers. Consumerism programs people to care more about material possessions than financial stability.

Furthermore, consumerism and materialism has also hurt the family structure in America. While right-wingers love to baselessly proclaim that feminists, gay-rights advocates and Democrats have "hurt the family structure," if anything has done it, it's materialism. Among those that actually can afford the McMansions and gas guzzlers, it's not uncommon for both parents (if there are two) to either work more than one job, or to work so many hours at one job to actually be a detriment to the well-being of their families and children. This is how children get alienated. It often causes divorces, infidelity and breakups, in heterosexual family settings and in GLBT family settings alike. In essence, these people would honestly rather have all their stuff than a meaningful relationship with their children (natural born or adopted) and significant other.

Our environment has suffered greatly because of materialism and consumerism. A good deal of hardcore consumerists drive gas guzzlers with low MPGs that increase American dependence on foreign oil and increase the release of greenhouse gases. Suburban sprawl has consumed square miles upon square miles of farmland and wilderness, with little if any green planning involved. Pavement replaces green spaces, leading to an increase of flash flooding, a decrease of trees to absorb carbon dioxide, and increases toxic runoff into streams. Materialism causes the rapid usage of natural resources and essentially means that humanity is using up resources today with little concern for tomorrow. The throw-away culture of consumerism and materialism means that a lot of things are thrown away and sent to landfills where they will take thousands of years to degrade, or sent to incinerators where pollution is released into the atmosphere.

In spite of the fact that Madison Avenue and Wall Street like to hammer home to the rest of the country that all one needs is a ton of material possessions to be happy, that is not what I would observe from the materialist people that I personally know. Most of the hardcore materialists that I know come across as bitter, intolerant of anything different from them, ignorant and proud of it, self-centered and always on the quest for that next shiny must-have item. Some are almost like drug addicts; they honestly believe that that next material possession will make them happy, just like an addict thinks the next hit will make them happy. Acceptance of those that are different is a real issue; I've known hardcore materialists that are racists, misogynists, homophobes, but most often rather critical of anybody whose life does not revolve around stuff like theirs does.

Sadly, I doubt that things are truly going to get better. I was hopeful that if anything good was going to come out of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, it would be that our country's rampant consumerism would be abated, if but for a short while. After all, logic states that after seeing terrorists piledrive aircraft into skyscrapers and the Pentagon and kill 3,000 innocent people, that maybe people (especially in New York and DC) would begin to realize that there are more important things in this world than how many truly worthless material possessions one can acquire. That such an event would perhaps show what's really important: family, friends, happiness, love, and if one practices a religion, their faith. Sadly, the average person returned to their material-centric lives all too quickly (if they ever deviated from them in the first place), only within a matter of months of the tragedy. I also thought that perhaps Hurricane Katrina four years later could change the consumerist/materialist ethos, but I was proven wrong again after that tragedy. People lost everything in that hurricane and were happy that they survived the disaster of New Orleans, and rejoiced for the survival of their friends and family who lived, and wept for the ones who died. They could have cared less about the material stuff they lost. I hoped that perhaps the public at large could learn a lesson or two from the NOLA survivors, but many unfortunately didn't.

[SharonAnn]

1. And destroyed the quality of products from formerly good companies.

Predatory capitalists bought out good companies. Raped their pension plans, other assets, sold off parts of the companies, outsourced the labor, reduced the quality of their products and the quality of their service.

Seriously, it's hard to find some real quality in some products anymore. And if there is, it's only in the premium, high-cost brands where one used to be able to find/purchase decent quality at lower prices.

[anonymous171]

2. Consumerism is never going to go away. There's too much money in it. nt

[G_j]

3. just the opposite of,,

sustainability

[Merlot]

4. It was the corporations that promoted the ideology of consumerism

with the help of the gov't.

It wasn't just some faceless malady called "consumerism" that has destroyed the fabric of America. There are people behind the promotion of this ideology. Real people who run corporations and bought of the government.

[anonymous171]

6. Yep. They had a large interest in tying American citizens' self-worth to their products.

"You want to be cool? Buy product X! You want to be smart? Buy product Y! Define yourself through the shit you buy! " :puke:

The interesting part is that this goes against American values like Individualism and self-determination.

[Fire1]

34. You mean, what USED to be American values. Your

first quoted statement is totally on point.

[Kievan Rus]

7. Madison Avenue and Wall Street

[seabeyond]

21. and us... being the helpless souls... ya, we are conditioned

some more willingly than others.

and some have even said bullshit to that and turned back.

it can be done

[Duer 157099]

5. I think it's the stock market - unregulated greed

And the reason the corporations and companies are able to get away with it, sending jobs overseas, laying people off, etc, is because so many Americans have their whole retirement plan in the stock market and so have a vested interest in the corporate greed, even if their miniscule benefit is so grossly offset by the damage that's being done on a larger, societal level.

Corporations would *not* be getting away with what they're doing if John Q. Public wasn't personally invested in it.

[Fire1]

35. Another good point. n/t

[doc03]

8. Amen to that. Here is an example of

consumerism drive around and observe how many of those storage units you see. Most of those units are used to store (stuff) people don't have room for in their homes or garages. Another example drive around and check out all the garage sales, people selling their old (stuff) to make room for more new (stuff).

[Skittles]

9. I agree

I still remember being horrified when they introduced SUV's - and people actually bought them.....disgusting

[tkarolewics711]

10. We don't have capitalism in this country

We have Corporatism (Communism for the wealthy). Years and years ago, the Courts of this country declared that corporations can receive the same rights and protections under the Constitution as the people, the citizens of this Country (see http://www.reclaimdemocracy.org/personhood/). These corporations created a communal front for the wealthy and the upper classes to protect themselves from personal responsibility for their faults, they protect themselves from lawsuits and oftentimes criminal penalties, and it will be the corporation that will declare bankruptcy when they fail, while those who acquired the wealth from these corporations take what they can and move on, forming a new corporation. They in essence created communal groups to protect and advance their own interests, thus they are communists. The concept of the corporation exists for one reason and this is for the purposes of the wealthy to be able to build power, both economic and political, over that of the common people in order to make more money, build more power and to return to their feudal paradise. These corporations have controlled this nations since at least the early 1800's. They were the Whigs, who became the Republicans. The early Republicans appeared to be noble, and many were, in the fact that they fought slavery in the South. However, those that came to rise in the Republican Party following the Civil War, were not noble people. In the North there was a need for disposable labor, which came from the Irish, Italian and Eastern European immigrants. They needed a labor force that was willing to work for subsistence wages and if and when they got killed in the coal mines, steel mines and factories, they were easily replaced by the influx of new labor. When the workers rose up in the form of unions, they were beaten down. Racial animosities were stoked as poor black laborers were brought up to fill the places of striking workers. They have constantly pitted the poor native born English against the Irish, the Irish against the Italian, the Italian against the Pole and the Russian, etc. and then pitted us all against the poor blacks. They did it then and they do it now. It is time that we stood together and said enough is enough.
We are not whites, blacks, Eastern Europeans, Southern Europeans, Christians (Catholics and Protestants), Jews, Muslims, Atheists. WE ARE THE PEOPLE. And we the people must stand together and not allow this country to be governed by the consent of the health insurance industry and the oil industry and FOX News and the corporations that have only existed for the purposes of benefiting the wealthy.
I have no problems with some capitalism in that individuals should be able to rise above their station and make a better life for themselves. I also have no problems with some socialism in that we have a moral imperative to take care of those among us who cannot take care of themselves. I don't know about you, but I am sick and tired of being one of the ants stomped on at will.

[paulsby]

11. begs the question

your argument assumes the US *is* destroyed. we here this crap EVERY recession (and especially in the great depression).

the naysayers are always wrong. and its always "different this time"

[omega minimo]

12. 30 years of Reaganism destroyed the nation. Different this time.

[paulsby]

19. that's what the naysayers ALWAYS say

every single recession and the depression ... it's different this time.

the mantra of the historically myopic.

those who don't understand history are condemned to repeat it.

over and over and over again.

same song, different day.

[omega minimo]

22. You've got it backwards. This is the repeat that was preventable. And did irreparable harm.

[paulsby]

24. no, if you study history

you will realize i have it correct.

[omega minimo]

28. If you understand history, you don't have to repeat it. Yet we did. AND irreparable harm was done.

Perhaps people say it is different each time, because it IS different each time. In this case, the rights and qualities and freedoms and birthrights that the American people have lost due to Reagan's Reign of Error are unique to our time, inherited from previous generations, some damaged, some never to return.

If you think you know history and it cycles, which it does, then why are you insisting that those who DON'T remember history are doomed to repeat it?

This Reaganism debacle was predictable and preventable, based on the lessons of history, yet the lemmings marched to the cliff and climbed the diving board, yet again.

Why?

[paulsby]

32. you are repeating it by saying

"it's different THIS time."

on the whole, it's never different. every recession, people are scared. the best time to buy stocks is when people are jumping from windows, for example (not now.).

and everytime we have a crash andor a recession, people will say "THIS one is different."

ALWAYS. it comes like clockwork

and it has been wrong EVERY time. we've always had a recovery. capitalist economies work that way. they have boom cycles and crashes.

[omega minimo]

42. you've limited your thinking and aren't reading my posts

about what IS different this time. Not reading them at all.


You want to make your simplistic point. Fine.

[paulsby]

48. there are always some things that are different

the initial trigger, aspects of the economic environment, etc.

but the point is that viewpoint is totally myopic. it's forest for the trees syndrome.

the overall thing IS the same. it's a recession. it's natural, it's part of our system, and it needs to work itself out.

and it ALWAYS does.

and EVERY time we have one, there are chicken littles runnin' around saying THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT.

[anonymous171]

13. Jobless recoveries tend to make people lose faith in Consumerism/Capitalism.

Just saying :shrug:

[paulsby]

20. and it's always that same old song

every recession etc. is used by naysayers to decry capitalism, yet capitalism continues to succeed.

[omega minimo]

29. The top 1% holds 95% of the nation's total wealth. You all that success?

The OP was about consumerism and materialism -- if you read it -- and above we were talking about Reaganism DEREGULATED CAPITALISM.

What are you talking about?

[paulsby]

33. several things

i was refuting the ridiculous assertion that our nation has been destroyed.

[Fire1]

37. It won't be destroyed as long as we have indoctrinated

idiots drooling at the sight of that carrot they keep dangling in front them.

[paulsby]

49. for many of us, the carrot isn't dangling

it's sitting in our bank accounts, our houses, our portfolios, etc.

the american dream has been bruised. it's a nasty recession. but it will survive. it always does. and for most people, life goes on.

[Fire1]

54. And for many their lives have been destroyed. In my view,

corporatism/capitalism, is not normal and I hope to God it never returns. This country needs democracy not capitalism.

[paulsby]

55. those are not mutually exclusive

capitalism and democracy are doing just fine thanx


capitalism is the best economic system. corporatism is not.

[Fire1]

56. I am a democratic socialist, therefore, we will never agree.

Unbridled capitalism without regulation, the results of which millions are experiencing now, is catastrophic and unsustainable. Socialism must increasingly be in the mix.

[paulsby]

57. as soon as you find me an example of

"unbridled capitalism w/o regulation" - let me know.

i have never seen any nation that has that.

several are less regulated than we are. none are unregulated.

[Fire1]

59. I don't know how you've managed to go unscathed on this

website with your level of ignorance but congratulations. To continue under the radar, I will offer my unsolicited advice that you refrain from such commentary in the future. Have a nice day.

[paulsby]

61. nice contentless post

do you dispute that 1) the US is UNREGULATED or do you agree (hint, it's regulated)

do you dispute that 2) some other countries are less regulated? (and here's another hint, if another country can be less regulated, then it is logically impossible for us to be in fact UNregulated. you can't have less than zero regulation)

them's the facts.

have a nice day

[Fire1]

36. You call Wall Street calling the shots for their benefit a

SUCCESS??? You call 1% running a country, a SUCCESS??? I damned sure don't. I call it a dismal failure.

[Fire1]

41. I lost faith in capitalism when athletes started making more

than the President of the United States.

[girl gone mad]

18. So it wasn't "different this time"..

during the depression?

Ahem.

[Romulox]

23. Have you look at a graph of US wages over the last 30 years?

:hi:

[leftstreet]

14. Stop blaming the people

:eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

[TheKentuckian]

15. Consumerism is to the US as crack has been to down and out neighborhoods

It didn't introduce and propagate it's self but there are plenty that were more than willing to give it a whirl.

[bridgit]

16. Oh, well yeah sure, it's us but it's more than us too

http://www.storyofstuff.com

[amborin]

17. totally agree n/t

[Echo In Light]

25. "A comfortable, smooth, reasonable, democratic unfreedom prevails ...

... in advanced industrial civilization, a token of technical progress."

"Such new modes can be indicated only in negative terms because they would amount to the negation of the prevailing modes. Thus economic freedom would mean freedom from the economy-from being controlled by economic forces and relationships; freedom from the daily struggle for existence, from earning a living. Political freedom would mean liberation of the individuals from politics over which they have no effective control. Similarly, intellectual freedom would mean the restoration of individual thought now absorbed by mass communication and indoctrination, abolition of "public opinion" together with its makers. The unrealistic sound of these propositions is indicative, not of their utopian character, but of the strength of the forces which prevent their realization." ~ Herbert Marcuse

[Vidar]

26. K&R

[RadicalGeek]

27. If we want to change the world

We need to change our culture from the culture of consumption that the author speaks of to one of sustainability.

I've seen signs of it now with us in a recession, but what about when times get better. Many folks will go back to thier old ways. . .

[Fire1]

38. We don't need to change the world. Everyone else seems to

be doing just fine adopting the very values we ONCE had. We need to concentrate on getting back to a true DEMOCRACY!

[Odin2005]

30. Too many idiots think whoever dies with the most toys wins.

[omega minimo]

31. Too many idiots grew up with bumperstickers instead of books

:hug:

[MadMaddie]

39. It truely kicked into gear with the Reagonomics

Nixon may have given the Healthcare Industry the go ahead to screw the American people but the rest lays on Ronnie's shoulders.

[DainBramaged]

40. Demanding the lowest price rather than the highest quality destroyed us

Because people wanted cheap not good, the corporations listened and all of our manufacturing went overseas. And then to make matters worse, we let the Foreign auto makers in without reciprocation.

Blame the greed not the need.

[omega minimo]

44. Demanding BOTH destroyed the economy.

Our electronics are all outsourced. Everything is and it's not all cheap plastic crap. All the housewares, clothing, etc. and handcrafted items are good for the price, better than they should be at the price.

More people would rather take advantage of that than consider the implications, til they arrive as they are now.

[DainBramaged]

45. We have outsourced and off-shored our future, and there is no turning back

pleasing the stockholders (the 2% of the population who hires US as help) is more important than pleasing your customers and your biggest asset, your Domestic labor force. As we race to the bottom, we will soon run out of cheap labor markets to exploit. And when the circle returns from where it began, we'll be wondering where our country went.

I for one will be worm meat by the time the current generation of selfish consumers who think anything made overseas is the best there is are cut off due to geo-political conflicts and return to hand-made utensils to eat the food they scrape from the dumpsters of the rich.

[omega minimo]

46. I'd like to turn back to 1994 or so

when I connected these dots, predicted the outcome of the wave/flood of cheap Chinese goods (and lost jobs) that really picked up then. What's the trick to getting people to pay attention ahead of time to:

IF. YOU. SUPPORT. THIS. YOU. ARE. SCREWING. OVER. YOURSELF. IN. THE. FUTURE.

Those chickens always come home to roost.

[DainBramaged]

47. The chickens will be eaten by the starving here

:patriot:

[omega minimo]

50. Maybe they'll adopt the Chinese

custom of eating the feet, beaks, etc. :yoiks: :hi:

Well, how do you deal with being a smart old fart, aside from being glad you're long gone........... did you see the trainwreck coming and hope we might collectively step out of the way sometime in the last one to three decades?

[DainBramaged]

51. I was working for the Japanese when I realized we were racing for the bottom

they were closing down their TV manufacturing plants here and moving them to China. I saw THOUSANDS of people put out on waivers so WalMart could sell a 13" and 19" TV at the $199 price point (in the early 90's) and make $40 doing it.

[omega minimo]

52. we saw the writing on the wall, up close and personal.

Americans in general have yet to understand that exploitation of cheap labor in other countries is now exploiting them.

[Blue_Tires]

43. kick for later...

[Ozymanithrax]

53. Consumerism is about redistributing wealth from the poor and the middle class...

to the affluent and wealthy investor class.

It is not about getting the cheapest price for an item. In a consumer society, unnecessary goods are created and marketed by manufacturing the need. People do not need a new car every three years, but we are sold on that idea. We do not need to constantly change fashions, but they change in order to keep money moving.

Consumerism creates wealth for investors and manufactures debt for the poor and middle class.

Consumerism is not capitalism. It does use free market mechanisms, but only to facilitate the transfer of wealth. Consumerism does not encourage competition. Prices of similar objects are set near each other. Places like Wallmart are designed to ring the last penny the poor can borrow. High end items are created to sell the illusion that the middle class can live like the wealthy by going into debt. Every television show and movie is created to highlight the virtues of wealth and sell products that we don't need. Nothing, nothing is made to last because that would reduce the transfer of money up to the wealthiest individuals.

[Initech]

58. George Carlin was right - America's new national pasttime is consumption.

And that's something we're all guilty of too.

[Truthway]

60. only this country?

the whole world... we could have had the same techno developments, even without this rate of "growth"

We should have controlled the population a long time ago...

its coming to bite us in the a###