23-02-2014, 08:39 PM
If you live in America, or see a lot of American culture, media and advertising, you've probably noticed that the basis of our society is essentially negative: money-hungry, materialistic, competitive, selfish, aggressive, miserable. And most of what drives people every day is the idea that's been put into their heads: There's Something Wrong with You, or Something is Lacking In Your Life. And if you buy a particular product or service, get that promotion, purchase some more insurance, get your nose fixed or achieve those six-pack abs, get that big-screen TV or expensive sports car, or that cute outfit and shoes, someday you'll be happy and life will be wonderful.
Obviously this idea isn't something people are born with. They've had it pounded into them all their lives from almost every direction: family, school, churches, television, popular culture, work, and especially advertising. The problem has existed since the early 20th century, but in the last few decades it's grown much worse. On those rare occasions when I turn on TV, or I'm forced to watch an ad on a website, I'm truly stunned at how blatant it is now.
Obviously it's a great formula for making money. If people were content with their lives and what they own and the way they look, they wouldn't need to consume so much. They might not need to spend their lives furiously working at "careers" so they can make a higher income so they can afford a "lifestyle" that someone else invented for them.
I recommend reading Vance Packard's books (written in the late 1950s and 1960s) like THE WASTE MAKERS, THE STATUS SEEKERS and THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS, and see how he predicted where all of this would lead.
Obviously this idea isn't something people are born with. They've had it pounded into them all their lives from almost every direction: family, school, churches, television, popular culture, work, and especially advertising. The problem has existed since the early 20th century, but in the last few decades it's grown much worse. On those rare occasions when I turn on TV, or I'm forced to watch an ad on a website, I'm truly stunned at how blatant it is now.
Obviously it's a great formula for making money. If people were content with their lives and what they own and the way they look, they wouldn't need to consume so much. They might not need to spend their lives furiously working at "careers" so they can make a higher income so they can afford a "lifestyle" that someone else invented for them.
I recommend reading Vance Packard's books (written in the late 1950s and 1960s) like THE WASTE MAKERS, THE STATUS SEEKERS and THE HIDDEN PERSUADERS, and see how he predicted where all of this would lead.