Thanks for that interesting point of view Mark.
We concur on he consumerism part, but it seems we differ on the
individualism.
It seems to me both are intertweened, despite not being sure if there is
causality beyond a hunch, and if so, which way(s) it is at work; I have
a feeling one feeds the other but the logic seems brittle, still.
Allow me to give a try at explaining how I see this might work.
I will only add that: consumerism is passive.
It's the infamous tale of the "paradise" life of pig living in a farm:
infinite food, shelter, healthcare, and nothing required of it.
Being passive and self-oriented (self wealth, comfort, interests, etc.),
it is not oriented towards others. You focus on the product and its
price, not the producer.
Following that logic, consumerism fuels self-importance, which in turn
leads to:
- disconnection from/to others, especially caring about them through the
consequence of your (lack of) actions; lack of empathy
- unwillingness, then inability to actually *drive* things, to
participate in an unincentivised matters from which there is nothing
personal to gain; lack of generosity and selflessness
That would be my way of explaining why/how consumerism leads to
individualism.
Once you're individualistic, once you forgot your gregarious origins,
what is there left to feel happy, beyond consuming products/services?
It thus seems only logical individualism fuels consumerism.
And you got your vicious circle initiated, whatever end it started with.
The only way i see it can be broken is when you remember you are not
alone, and what you do (not do) has impact on others. Always.
The bright side would be this can happen at any time in the self-feeding
loop to break it, which makes exiting it rather "easy", or at least not
much more than entering it in the first place.
Bernard (Beer) Rosset
https://rosset.net/
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