Here is a theory (fox lens viewpoint) of why many people are under economic duress. The problem is not consumerism but producerism:
In the US there are many ambitious, hardworking people who are very excited about their work and career. Such people view work, achievement, and production as its own reward. They primarily value the intellectual satisfaction and social validation that comes from career success; money is less important.
However, even though they don’t necessarily value the money that highly, they still get a lot of it, because they are typically quite successful (other things being equal, people who value achievement highly tend to achieve a lot). Because they have obtained quite a bit of money without directly aiming for it, they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to conserve it. Such a person’s inner monologue might run something like this: “I’ve got to get a job a Google/Facebook/Amazon/Goldman, they’re the best in the business, and I want to work with the best people and change the world!… (person works hard to get a relevant degree from a top school, does a lot of networking and side projects, etc etc and finally lands the dream job) … Okay sweet, now I’m here! This is awesome, now I’ve got to hit a homerun on this project… oh right and I’ve got to buy some clothes and a car… how much will that be? $30K....? Seems pricey, but I’m making $150K, so it’s no big deal …”
The point is, because these people have lots of cash that they don’t care too much about conserving, they drive prices up for everyone else. Consumer companies orient themselves towards the people who have a lot of cash and don’t care too much about getting the best prices; such people probably are the most valuable customers. Other people, who don’t love their work and view it as a necessary evil, find that they need to work much harder than they should because of the crazy overachievers who are running up the prices on everything.
Here is a theory (fox lens viewpoint) of why many people are under economic duress. The problem is not consumerism but producerism:
In the US there are many ambitious, hardworking people who are very excited about their work and career. Such people view work, achievement, and production as its own reward. They primarily value the intellectual satisfaction and social validation that comes from career success; money is less important.
However, even though they don’t necessarily value the money that highly, they still get a lot of it, because they are typically quite successful (other things being equal, people who value achievement highly tend to achieve a lot). Because they have obtained quite a bit of money without directly aiming for it, they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about how to conserve it. Such a person’s inner monologue might run something like this: “I’ve got to get a job a Google/Facebook/Amazon/Goldman, they’re the best in the business, and I want to work with the best people and change the world!… (person works hard to get a relevant degree from a top school, does a lot of networking and side projects, etc etc and finally lands the dream job) … Okay sweet, now I’m here! This is awesome, now I’ve got to hit a homerun on this project… oh right and I’ve got to buy some clothes and a car… how much will that be? $30K....? Seems pricey, but I’m making $150K, so it’s no big deal …”
The point is, because these people have lots of cash that they don’t care too much about conserving, they drive prices up for everyone else. Consumer companies orient themselves towards the people who have a lot of cash and don’t care too much about getting the best prices; such people probably are the most valuable customers. Other people, who don’t love their work and view it as a necessary evil, find that they need to work much harder than they should because of the crazy overachievers who are running up the prices on everything.
Could producerism also be a major issue in East Asia?