Wealth is Relative

[hmkpoker]

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This is an excellent point. A lot of what consumers are actually seeking in their purchases is status. Having something that no one else has is very, very cool. I remember being the first kid in my class to get a Sony Playstation, which quickly made me a lot of friends (until everyone else got one). That happens with everything. New technology is always expensive as hell when it first comes on the market, then rapidly plummets when it becomes "obsolete." Having an iPhone (or whatever the spankin' new gadget may be) isn't just about having a convenient, touch-sensitive phone, mp3 player and web browser, it's about being the only guy with an iPhone. (I can understand, and even sympathize with leftist psychologists who claim that limiting our consumer options might actually have positive psychic effects; unfortunately the macroeconomic repurcussions of what they advocate are terrifying.)

This is pretty deeply rooted in our culture, and I think that's sad; if you're able to overcome this kind of consumer fetishism, living comfortably is really affordable. Watching your shows on a 720p HDTV isn't that much better than watching them on a good old fashioned CRT.

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You sound like a commie.

Seriously, though, I'm glad you understand at least part of what I'm trying to say.

Capitalism is like running a treadmill, where the end result is always just slightly out of reach.

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I'm just someone who understands basic psychology.

These problems are NOT inherent in capitalism. There is not even any good reason to suspect that. Individuals can transcend consumer fetishism in a free market. Here are some ways you can do it:

- Stop whining
- Get out of debt
- Get some friends who like doing what you like to do, and hang out a lot
- Get laid
- Pick up a relaxing hobby
- Meditation/spirituality
- Try some psychedelics

Are we really supposed to believe that, because capitalism is like running a treadmill, socialism (being the opposite) will suddenly fill the void in everyone's life by limiting their options and halting innovation? The soviets and the chinese were given all that was allowed by their government. They simply were not permitted to have/do any more. Did they all attain the state of nirvana? No, they were simply sent to the gulags every time they tried working toward a preferable state of affairs.

Human wants are inherently endless. That's not capitalism's fault.