Yes, buy that Prada bag.
Yes, buy that Porsche car.
Yes, please, buy all of them.
I’d love to see you burn in the flames of materialism and capitalism.
I’d love to see you trapped in the jaws of consumerism, running on the perpetual hedonic treadmill — where even as tired as you are, you will still chase for the elusive ego booster you so desperately crave. A feeble attempt to make yourself feel important, to feel validated, when in reality no one actually gives a shit.
I never understood all of this. Why people can forsake their wealth just to out-compete one another in a game in which none will be the winner.Because the winner are the companies, who are fanning themselves with all of their cash and laughing maniacally at these poor humans who buy into their shit.
Maybe it is the manifestation of our monkey brains to always one-up the other to survive the evolution game. Maybe it really brings them actual joy and permanent gratification. Maybe it’s just me being a cranky complainer.
I have heard a hilarious comment on a local variety tv show. They discussed with teens and youth the most expensive thing they owned. This guy whipped out a $8000 watch. When asked why he bought it, he said, “It serves as a reminder, a reminder that I was once rich enough to buy a $8000 watch.” At which point I just gave up on comprehending what he was thinking.
In the end, you see, it is all just stuff. You are no Egyptian or Emperor Qin, you won’t be buried with your treasures (or a vast array of stone warriors). And even if you did, you will certainly not be using them in you afterlife.
Stuff is just stuff — things of this world, and they stay in this world. You won’t be remembered for all the fantastic cars and bags you own. They mean nothing.
Well, maybe these are just petty musings of a not well-to-do individual like me. If one is able to have enough money to buy all the useless unnecessarily fancy stuff and still have vast leftovers to sustain an extravagant lifestyle, I guess they have the right to. What judgement do I have to give as to how people want to spend their money?
However, this really goes to show how the world works, how the world actually revolves around money. With copious amounts of cash to spend, it only makes sense for luxury items to pop up, to use it to feel self-important, however empty they are — like paper people, putting up paper faces, living in paper towns — everything a facade. Ads and media and fluff to perpetuate this perception of betterment, that there is a higher material goal you can achieve as long as you put your heart and soul (and of course, money) into it.
Is the human endeavour so consumed by, well, consumerism that in our life we actually give up so much to buy so many things, only to end up with nothing?
I, clearly, have no answer as well. Life’s a tough nut to crack.
Thank you for reading! Pardon this anti-consumerism rambling, I just got really thinking about materialistic perspectives and decided to pen it down. This article is originally published on Medium, 21 May 2016.
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