Noam Chomsky on consumerism

[marmar]

"The goal for the corporations is to maximize profit and market share. And they also have a goal for their target, namely the population. They have to be turned into completely mindless consumers of goods that they do not want. You have to develop what are called "Created Wants". So you have to create wants. You have to impose on people what's called a Philosophy of Futility. You have to focus them on the insignificant things of life, like fashionable consumption. I'm just basically quoting business literature. And it makes perfect sense. The ideal is to have individuals who are totally disassociated from one another. Whose conception of themselves, the sense of value is just, "how many created wants can I satisfy?" We have huge industries, public relations industry, monstrous industry, advertising and so on, which are designed from infancy to mold people into this desired pattern."

-- Noam Chomsky, from the film, "The Corporation"

[no_hypocrisy]

1. And thus our economy is actually predicated and built on futility, unwanted

needs, insecurity, greed, and other psychological defects. No wonder there are bubbles.

[woo me with science]

31. Our economic assumptions are sick at their core.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-robbins/how-the-gdp-is-leading-us_b_637037.html


John Robbins
Posted: July 6, 2010 06:13 PM

How The GDP Is Leading Us Terribly Astray

....

How do we measure our nation's economic performance? The answer, for more than seventy- five years, has been the gross national product (GNP) and its nearly identical twin, the gross domestic product (GDP).

....
Unfortunately, using the GDP to measure prosperity and assess economic well-being is leading us terribly astray. It is a statistical index that is guaranteed to mislead us, and relying on it as we have done has added greatly to the economic misery in people's lives. Two months before he was assassinated, Robert F. Kennedy eloquently explained why:

"Our gross national product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors, and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwoods, and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm, nuclear warheads, and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile."

How can we develop a healthy relationship to wealth and to genuine progress when our most fundamental gauge to assess economic well-being is so askew? The GDP, like the GNP, simply adds together all monetary expenditures. The GDP does not care one whit what it is we're consuming, about how equitably distributed a country's wealth might be, nor whether the money we spend is ours or is borrowed from future generations. It doesn't care about infant mortality rates or the amount of violence in a society. It doesn't take into any account how many people are homeless, unemployed, or hungry. It is entirely possible for the nation with the world's highest GDP to also have the world's highest poverty rate, the highest amount of unemployment, and the world's highest level of national debt.

The GDP rises whenever money changes hands. When families break down and children require foster care, the GDP grows, but not so when parents successfully care for their children. People who max out their credit cards buying things they don't need make the GDP look good. People who save their money and live sensibly don't. Seen through such a lens, the most economically productive people are cancer patients in the midst of getting acrimoniously divorced. Healthy people in happy marriages, in contrast, are economically invisible, and all the more so if they cook at home, walk to work, grow food in a home garden, and don't smoke.

The more people drive, the higher the GDP rises, due to the greater production of gasoline and cars. No account is taken of the number of hours wasted in traffic jams or the pollution unleashed into the atmosphere. In recent years, the GDP has gotten substantial boosts from toxic waste spills and the boom in prison construction. The whole thing is reminiscent of Edward Abbey's reflection that "growth for the sake of growth is the philosophy of the cancer cell."

....

(more at link...)

[leeroysphitz]

2. Sounds comuniss to me... n/t

[robcon]

3. "They have to be turned into completely mindless consumers of goods that they do not want. "

Nonsense. Only a fascist would argue that he/she knows what consumers want.

Humans are not "mindless."
They buy what they want.
We must treat our fellow humans as adults and equals, and not try to demean them.

Chomsky feels superior to others, and argues that he knows what's best. I disagree. He has fascist tendencies.

[marmar]

5. "He has fascist tendencies."

:rofl:


So Noam Chomsky advocates the merger of corporation and state? ..... There's some daft crap posted at DU, but this is extra special.

[robcon]

6. Your 'merger' fantasy is a mistranslation of Mussolini.

Chomsky wants control over people. He's a fascist.

[marmar]

7. Corporations want control over people and they have the money and media power to do it.

But There's none so blind as those who will not see.

[Evasporque]

28. Keep shopping...God Bless TV and the Mall....drive American Prosperity!

[nc4bo]

4. Keeping up with the Jones' can be expensive.....

Could be anything "new" residing in a neighborhood or other place where people have relationships; like your job. Let someone buy or renovate their house, buy a new car/truck, lawnmower, clothing, a fabulously landscaped front yard, kids' schools, jewelry, even the people others choose to have personal relationships with...

You'll see, read or hear an advert. somewhere and next thing you know, you KNOW someone that bought "IT" or will go into deep debt to have "IT" or be willing to date/marry "IT".

I could be wrong but it just seems like there's some basic, reptilian brain, human instinct stuff going on and there are those who know how to turn that need to have "IT" on.

LOL, had to think about a neighbor the other day that bought a brand new John Deere riding mower, next thing I know another neighbor 2 blocks away was mowing their lawn with a brand new John Deere riding mower. Before the year's over, I expect to see another John Deere or some other brand new riding mower making the last cut of the season.

:shrug:

[robcon]

8. I think Maslow's hierarchy of desires explains a lot of it.

After basic physiological needs (subsistence and safety needs) are satisfied, human needs become more ego-driven.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Physiological needs

Safety and Security
Personal security
Financial security
Health and well-being
Safety net against accidents/illness and their adverse impacts

Love and belonging
Friendship
Intimacy
Family

Esteem

Self-actualization

[nc4bo]

14. Thanks for putting a name to it!

I hope no one thinks I'm hating on folks who do this, I'm not. I'm more interested in what influences or drives the behavior if it's not an actual need.

Kids are good for it. I remember back in the day it was brand name high end sneakers.

[ileus]

10. I bought a cub because I didn't want to duplicate my neighbors decision to buy a JD.

That and the fact my cub has a Kawaiski engine.

Why wouldn't you expect to see another new mower before the year is out...people buy new items all the time, I'm sure one or two of the neighbors bought new cars, maybe a new boat. Some shrubs...lawn furniture, bikes, maybe someone bought a house in the neighborhood.


Season end is the best time to buy. My neighbor bought his JD last year, my mower bit the dust a few months ago so I opted to downsize to a 46" cut to get the better engine. My other neighbor bought a new zero turn mower two years ago does that mean we're copying him? People buy things...

Speaking of new things...My 6yo laptop is biting the dust, I know for a fact my neighbor bought a new laptop this year should I refrain from buying one?

[nc4bo]

12. Of course people buy stuff because old stuff breaks

or is on the way to salvage. It seems like an conscious pattern of behavior sometimes with certain things

MOST of the time we don't buy unless there's an actual need or perhaps I'm just thinking about how my family handles such things.

I have no issue with people buying stuff but was thinking about how the purchase of some things, often similar things seems to go viral and wondered just how much effect advertising has to do with the behavior.

Neighbor A is retired, wife works at Walmart, house paid for, they're very comfortable. There was nothing wrong with their old rider but they bought a new one :rofl: Couldn't figure that out but it's their $$, their choice.

We try to fix but if the fix is so expensive and the thing is old then we'll buy gently used or just go with new but to just buy new just because..........well just because. No. Most of the time we don't.

Exception warning!!: Hubby has a big screen tv fetish but always sells the old one first. :rofl: I'm more the use it until the wheels fall off then buy.

[melm00se]

9. geez Norm

you make consumers appear to act in a direct reaction to a message (aka The hypodermic or magic bullet theory of communication). "A" is spoken and it immediately elicits response "B".

It's not that simple.

Historically, mass consumerism occurs once the 1st 2 or 3 levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs have been met:



Until the late 19th century, there were (extremely) limited amounts of advertising performed, yet there are numerous examples of over/mass consumption (Egypt, Babylon, and Ancient Rome to name a few). Once you have time on your hands beyond basic survival needs, the door opens up to a lot of bad behavior whether corporations or advertising or public relations exist.

[4dsc]

11. So now that consumerism is dying

I have to wonder what the next step in this evolution is?? Dieoff??

[Evasporque]

13. Probably a time of hardship...a decade or more...

As consumerism tries it's last hurrah and big box retail finally collapses into one or two giants. Malls will go empty and the suburban 8 lane retail car-centric corridors will fail and become relics.

At the same time however, African American, Latino and other ethnic urban communities will blossom.

The suburbs will fall into decay just as the greatest generation and baby boomers who over built them age and die.

The Tea Party and religious conservative type will do their best to destroy the inner city and protect their 50's sitcom American Dream they are living.

[robcon]

15. Fantasies, Evasporque. Your ethnic "blooming" is a racist construct, IMO.

n/t

[Evasporque]

22. from my perspective living in a segregated city....

Each of the clearly defined sections of the city African American in the central North and Hispanic in the south...both have small scale economies built to provide goods and services to the local neighborhoods...within these communities are the seeds of America's economic continuance once large scale consumerism and big box retail finally collapses.

People who live in the suburbs do not patronize the inner city shops and services. That is a fact.

If you aren't capable of entering into dialog when the real divisions of our society are highlighted without simply lobbing an troll grenade then you are welcome to your opinion.

[Supersedeas]

30. I'm not sure that all of what you say follows--why would racially segregated

neighborhoods necessarily germinate seeds of a new American economy?

You seem to be assuming that the inner city and suburbs are already racially segregated. There may be places where this is close to the truth, but there will be many more places where this is a false assumption. There are places where racial diversity is not only abundant but is also something that can be built upon--especially in inner city settings where making room for suburban farming can contribute for more sustainable living in the cities which may need more local sources of produce as petroleum prices start to rise.

[WingDinger]

16. Wrote a song about it, and it goes like this

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/WingDinger/109

[nc4bo]

17. Yes, you certainly did!

Perfectly!

[Dreamer Tatum]

18. Chomsky can blow it out his ass

I swear, this sanctimonious shit pisses me off.

The DU Mantra is that we will have no recovery until people have money to spend. Then demand goes up,
then companies hire. In other words, CONSUMERISM IS THE LINCHPIN TO RECOVERY, yet people still fawn
over the blatherings of some dickhead TENURED professor who never worked a day in his life.

Stupid.

[nc4bo]

19. Yea but can we take into account the number of jobs sent overseas or south of the border?

We can buy til the cows come home but if all we have left are minimum wage jobs with no benefits, we're not going to be doing much buying anyway.

Sooner or later there won't be anybody left who can afford to buy off the $1 menu at McDonald's.

It's one big ugly cycle.

[Dreamer Tatum]

20. That doesn't matter.

If you go to McDonalds under any circumstances, Chomsky will cluck his tongue at you.

[Evasporque]

23. Consumerism is failing.

Without jobs and a real base of progress and manufacturing to provide those jobs people won't have money to buy the crap from big box retail vendors.

[blindpig]

24. Yes, consumerism is the linchpin of American capitalism....

and it is utterly unsustainable ecologically. Thus capitalism itself is unsustainable. In the short term, because we are living with capitalism we must stimulate consumption so that people can survive. However, capitalism is the way of misery for the masses and incredibly destructive of our environment and resources. Survival demands that a rational economy, where things are produced to meet human need and not make profits for the capitalist class be instituted at the soonest.

[Dreamer Tatum]

27. Proof by assertion.

:eyes:

[hifiguy]

29. No closed system - and the Earth is a closed system

that depends on infinite growth is sustainable. Only the very cosmos itself may be infinite, and even the great Einstein was unsure about that.

Physics don't lie.

[Odin2005]

26. Consumerism is ecologically unsustainible.

Belief in eternal economic growth is insanity.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

21. Yep, which is why these need to be overseen and regulated by a government...

and not allowed to do any damned thing they want, as this country allowed them to do. We are now living in the result of allowing corporations to do anything they wished, and this is not the end of the tragedy.

[Odin2005]

25. K&R