Good points, Harry. But you have to admit that we've become a consumer culture. My wife and I are as guilty as anyone. In one corner sits an exercise bike, very rarely used. In another, a shredder, used once. We have four computers around the house, more than enough for a family of three. I do wish I wasn't so rational and that my wants weren't so infinite!
Ed Ed Weick 577 Melbourne Ave. Ottawa, ON, K2A 1W7 Canada Phone (613) 728 4630 Fax (613) 728 9382 > Ed, > > It surely isn't a free market, but we must be grateful, when the market > significantly helps. > > You are right about our being manipulated into buying all these gadgets we > don't really need. > > Look how people were persuaded to turn from good solid wood stoves to gas > and electric stoves. > > Then, there was the washing machine. I know that Gwen would have preferred > to take the clothes down to the river, where she could scrub them on > stones. But, she was manipulated into believing tossing them into the > machine was better. Poor gullible woman. > > The trouble with that fancy gadget - the vacuum cleaner - was that it made > cleaning so easy - the modern housewife spends more time cleaning than she > used to in the old days when it was more arduous. > > There again, how could we be convinced that washing and rinsing our dishes > multiple times in boiling water is better than standing at a sink rinsing > them in lukewarm water. We really are susceptible. > > Then, how about those 20 million a year who buy DVDs because they are > conned into believing they like a better picture and superior sound. > Particularly, as the conning is by those corporate hustlers who are freely > selling the gadgets at $50 rather than $500. > > They are practically philanthropists. > > Now, I must go out and buy one of those vehicles that has blinding speed, > corners on a dime, accelerates like that time machine, yet is equipped with > television, a satellite positioning device, and a device that will take > over the driving from you while you sleep. (Well, perhaps not the last one.) > > Harry > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- - > > Ed wrote: > > >Harry, the same thing seems to happen with a lot of other things we are > >conned into buying. The point you seem to be missing is the conning part. > >What was so wrong with VHS, or simply going to the movies? > > > >It's not a free market. It's all about strategic selling. Initially, you > >sell a "gotta have" product at the highest possible price and then bring the > >price down as the market fills up. And, yes indeed, competition enters into > >it, but the initial step is to manipulate consumers into buying something > >they may not really need but are persuaded to want. We have an incredible > >capacity for turning out gadgetry, and a corresponding capacity, perhaps > >even larger, to make us feel we need it - i.e., for making our wants > >infinite. > > > >Another strategy is to divide the market into little pieces, and market > >products to the exclusive few who can afford them. There's an ad aimed at > >"the select few" in today's paper marketing a car that will soon come "to a > >left lane of you", meaning that it will pass you at a high speed. Of > >course, it has other desirable features such as a very powerful engine and a > >very high price. Those of us who look at cars as appliances, much like > >stoves and fridges, can only wonder, and perhaps yearn a little. > > > >So, to repeat, it's not a free market, it's highly manipulated. Ever so > >much of it depends on having to have the latest this or the latest that, or > >feeling that you are making everybody envious because you have something > >they can't afford. > > > >Ed > > > ****************************** > Harry Pollard > Henry George School of LA > Box 655 > Tujunga CA 91042 > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel: (818) 352-4141 > Fax: (818) 353-2242 > ******************************* > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.434 / Virus Database: 243 - Release Date: 12/25/2002 > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
