Consuming Ourselves

Will there ever be a point where you make one last purchase and then you're happy? Psychologist and author Oliver James offers up his theory of 'Affluenza'. James says "(A)n epidemic of mindless consumerism is sweeping the world with the compulsive pursuit of money and possessions making people richer but sadder." Seems paradoxical, and yet despite "having it all" what would drive people to the point of financial ruin and, possibly, divorce, substance abuse or suicide?

When is enough, literally, enough?

A new film "...reveals that the financial industry's best customers are the broke and the bankrupt. The most profitable niche of the industry is called "alternative" or "sub-prime"-- euphemisms for a business formerly known as loan-sharking. They target those with less than perfect credit-people...

"...(The film) explores the financial industry's influence over the President and Congress. When you are the largest contributor to a President's re-election campaign, you can not only write laws but you can eliminate one of the oldest federal rights: bankruptcy. The industry gets whatever it wants. The result? Traditional protections disappear. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer."
- From http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

American consumers are over $2.4 trillion in debt. That's trillion, folks. And yet bank profits broke new records in 2006, largely due to those little fees paid out in the form of interest, late fees, over-the-limit fees and, of course, ATM fees. People use their own homes as cash machines (in the form of refinancing or equity loans) to supplement their credit card spending, pursuing the next purchase that will make all the long hours at work and personal alienation worth the sacrifice. Imagine the scenario of the snake eating its tail, satisfying its hunger while destroying itself. And now imagine the kind of mental state this puts people in: working more to own more, owning more but now having to work more. Rinse and repeat.

Consider that since 1997, when it was legal to start consumer advertising for prescription drugs, any "unpleasant" (i.e. undesirable) feeling was suddenly portrayed as a sign of illness, and luckily there was a brand new pill for whatever ails you. But who was "discovering" all these new disorders and establishing the symptoms? Big Pharma, of course. As patents ran out on some drugs, profits from new ones were needed to keep the shareholders happy. So, for example, a fidgety 4-year-old gets diagnosed with ADD and is given medication to alter her brain chemistry so she'll behave "normally". Uh, since when is it OK to mess with the developing nervous system of a generation of children with drugs that have questionable results, just so parents and teachers can turn their attention to something else... like their own comfort?

At some point, drugs that alter our bodies and minds so we can alter our lifestyle became acceptable, but the irony is that while a person is taking a pill to deaden their feelings, they're pursuing a lifestyle of material gluttony so they will feel something, anything at all. Not "performing long enough" in the bedroom (there's a universally agreed-upon standard minimum time?)? Not loving every moment of your life? Are your children hyperactive from sugary foods and impulsive from thousands of television commercials (surprise!)? You know the mantra, let's say it together: talk to your doctor.

But there may be a real solution...and it's measured, but not made, in the lab: several studies have shown that Buddhists are actually happier. An article in The Independent says that "MRI scans showed that...long-term meditators - who had completed more than 10,000 hours each - experienced a huge level of 'positive emotions' in the left pre-frontal cortex of the brain, which is associated with happiness. The right-hand side, which handles negative thoughts, is suppressed."

In "Fight Club", Tyler Durden says, among many things, "The things you own end up owning you. It's only after you lose everything that you're free to do anything." Does that make you think, (1) that's really sage advice, or (2) I want to own the collector's edition double DVD set?