Affluenza

Was listening to the Night Life on 702 (ABC, Sydney) and heard a very interesting discussion with Clive Hamilton and Richard Deniss from The Australia Institute. They were talking about their new book, Affluenza, is loosely translated as a disorder of over consumption, and materialism. They also spoke with a man who had “downshifted” or “right-shifted”. That is a man who gone from a job with longer hours, and greater pay, to a less paying job.

The cure of Affluenza, is not spending less money, but perhaps buying less and enjoying what you buy more. Like Growth Fetish, it attempts to discredit the assumption that economic growth is good.

A couple of things intrigued me. While teachers and nurses are often listed as more important professions, this is not balanced with the numbers heading in to study in these areas, and is probably a reflection of the remuneration for the job. The conversation also turned to advertising and how the best paid psychologists end up in marketing, convincing us to buy what we don’t need. (They used the example of drug companies, creating anxieties of new diseases, that we would buy their drugs). Also, back to the advertising, one comment they made that didn’t quite sit right was how they mentioned post-modernism being great as it teaches us to deconstruct what we view – not sure we should credit postmodernism for that. Seems like a good idea to watch the TV with your kids, and make them ad aware, or at least aware of the psychological tactics advertising companies use.

They made an interesting point about the punitive measures used against those who are poor. The wealthier we are, the more likely we will see those who aren’t as not pulling their weight. That is, they will be scapegoats. And I think its not that we care less about those who are disadvantaged, but that the reinforcement of our consumer lifestyles is greater.

Interestingly more people are fighting against the trend of materialism, and these stories are detailed in their book, and their motivation is not necessarily based in religious persuasions.

I found the interview one of the more enlightening I’ve heard for a while, and I do look forward to reading the book at some point. Also was interesting to have a look at The Wellbeing Manifesto, while not endorsing it, I found it made some interesting points.