We humans actually need very little to keep going. Food, a warm place to sleep, clean water and clothes. For just about everything else in our lives, there are marketing departments that exist for the purpose of getting people to move items from the "Want" list to the "Need" list.
Many years ago, the United States of America was a manufacturing country. Most everyone who worked played a part in making something. Somewhere along the way, it was determined that for the economy to continue to grow (remember that continued growth is unsustainable), the workers would have to be convinced to buy the products they helped to manufacture. This same phenomenon is happening in China today because they are getting to the point where they are manufacturing more than they can export.
Today, media and entertainment are just vehicles for delivering marketing to the masses. Commercials between songs, product placement in movies all help in generating desire for both low and high dollar items for which there is simply no frame of reference in some countries.
Do you think the family living in Siberia that sleeps in the kitchen for warmth at nite would understand the cache of owning a Louis Vitton handbag that would probably cost more than the family's combined annual salary?
How might daily lives be affected without marketing? Our houses might be smaller since we don't need to store all the stuff we buy. Our required salaries would be smaller because we wouldn't need to pay the mortgage on the big houses that also require heating and cooling. Our carbon footprints would be smaller due to the lesser demand on power to heat and cool our smaller homes and to drive our smaller vehicles. Peak oil might be pushed out 10 or 20 years due to the reduced demand for energy. People would be generally happier because they wouldn't have so many things on their "Need" list that they can't have.
While we may not be able to outlaw the marketing profession, it would be helpful just to understand the impact of marketing and take a step back from the commercials. If you can't stop your kids from watching TV, ask them to mute the commercials.
There's a movement to simplify and declutter lives out there. I've seen the term "rightsizing" and "minimalist living" used.
My children's cousins stay over sometimes and they usually bring handheld gaming devices, ipads, laptops, smartphones and portable DVD players. I think my electric bill goes up everytime they come. Something always gets left behind and they alway turn around to get it when someone finds the item(s) 10 minutes after they leave.
I'm guilty also. I now have 2 motorcycles. Did I really need to spend $10k on a motorcycle when I already had one that works? I only have 1 butt and it's not a primary form of transportation so I'll probably get to ride each one a few times a month at the most because I'm too busy working to pay the mortgage on a house big enough for me and my family's stuff.
On top of my family's wants and needs, my motorcycles have wants and needs too. Tank pads, fork seals the list goes on. Good my bikes don't watch TV or I'd be in trouble.
Many years ago, the United States of America was a manufacturing country. Most everyone who worked played a part in making something. Somewhere along the way, it was determined that for the economy to continue to grow (remember that continued growth is unsustainable), the workers would have to be convinced to buy the products they helped to manufacture. This same phenomenon is happening in China today because they are getting to the point where they are manufacturing more than they can export.
Today, media and entertainment are just vehicles for delivering marketing to the masses. Commercials between songs, product placement in movies all help in generating desire for both low and high dollar items for which there is simply no frame of reference in some countries.
Do you think the family living in Siberia that sleeps in the kitchen for warmth at nite would understand the cache of owning a Louis Vitton handbag that would probably cost more than the family's combined annual salary?
How might daily lives be affected without marketing? Our houses might be smaller since we don't need to store all the stuff we buy. Our required salaries would be smaller because we wouldn't need to pay the mortgage on the big houses that also require heating and cooling. Our carbon footprints would be smaller due to the lesser demand on power to heat and cool our smaller homes and to drive our smaller vehicles. Peak oil might be pushed out 10 or 20 years due to the reduced demand for energy. People would be generally happier because they wouldn't have so many things on their "Need" list that they can't have.
While we may not be able to outlaw the marketing profession, it would be helpful just to understand the impact of marketing and take a step back from the commercials. If you can't stop your kids from watching TV, ask them to mute the commercials.
There's a movement to simplify and declutter lives out there. I've seen the term "rightsizing" and "minimalist living" used.
My children's cousins stay over sometimes and they usually bring handheld gaming devices, ipads, laptops, smartphones and portable DVD players. I think my electric bill goes up everytime they come. Something always gets left behind and they alway turn around to get it when someone finds the item(s) 10 minutes after they leave.
I'm guilty also. I now have 2 motorcycles. Did I really need to spend $10k on a motorcycle when I already had one that works? I only have 1 butt and it's not a primary form of transportation so I'll probably get to ride each one a few times a month at the most because I'm too busy working to pay the mortgage on a house big enough for me and my family's stuff.
On top of my family's wants and needs, my motorcycles have wants and needs too. Tank pads, fork seals the list goes on. Good my bikes don't watch TV or I'd be in trouble.
Comments
Post a Comment