DO you count yourself among those victimized by the consumerism which is a byproduct of modernity? Let me ask the question a little differently because your initial response will likely be “No.” Have you just been to the mall and seen new clothes that you want even though your closet is full of unworn garments? Do you regularly find excuses to turn “want” into “need”? Do you sometimes have the urge to eat in a restaurant where the cost of the entree would buy a meal for a whole family in many places? Have you given in to these temptations? Like a lot of us, your answer is probably “Yes.” And that is what is falling prey to consumerism. You may prefer to remain in denial since it is easier to shop when one ignores the huge costs of our seemingly harmless indulgences. Wastefulness, materialism and gluttony are some of the end results. And the sad state of the poor is another of the byproducts.
Too many of us are consumed by desires to acquire objects of little use and less beauty while the poor are ravaged by diseases that assail them because of their unsanitary living conditions. The money we shove guiltily into their hands quickly salves our consciences and we go on our way feeling that we have done something good. Our frivolous spending and apathy toward the needy, however, can only serve to produce resentment among those who have far less than we do.
I am not suggesting a radical change in our lifestyles. What I am suggesting is simply a more responsible pattern of spending. Layer upon layer of market forces have overwhelmed our lives so we must work to peeling them away, also layer by layer. Support your local bakery. Buy home-made dessert instead of frequenting “gourmet” delicatessens for your after-dinner treats. Better still, make your own dessert. The chef at the nearest five-star hotel can’t hold a candle to home-cooked meal or a home-made dessert. Forget about those overpriced designer clothes. Give your creativity free rein; combine fabrics, edgings and such to produce something truly unique. Embroider something and appliqué it onto an blouse or skirt. Give away clothes that you consider still in an acceptable condition. If you mean to be charitable, give something that you’d like to wear yourself. Trade clothes with your friends and cousins who are roughly the same size as you. Encourage your husband to buy that older model car he’s been looking at. That way you turn planned obsolescence against itself. The car doesn’t automatically become “bad” because it is a couple of years old: the hype about new models is nothing but a carefully engineered plan to create dissatisfaction with old cars and make us want a new one.
I have found a number of definitions that describe the phenomena I am talking about and here is the one I like best: “Consumerism is economically manifested in the chronic purchasing of new goods and services, with little attention to true need, durability or origin of the product or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal.”
A recent study of consumerism blasted the obvious target — the United States — for its blatant consumerism. Significantly, the study did not spare the isolated pockets of rich people from such countries as the UAE, Saudi Arabia, India and Pakistan. We must act responsibly and we must do so now. This is one area where we cannot look to government. Governments are by definition about maintenance and good reform is about transformation. The time has come for all of us to involve ourselves in transformation.