Consumer products (things)....

are the cholesterol of the soul --- they block movement, induce stasis, distort goals, and weaken relationships. In short, the more things you have, the more likely your life will end in catastrophic failure.

Comments

[Seerov]

I'm not sure I can agree with your last sentence? Instead, I would say that if things are all you have, then your life IS a catastrophic failure.

The consumer (control) lifestyle is coming to an end. It was our elites "grand strategy" for keeping the masses in line since WWII. But as J. Robb pointed out, consumerism is "cholesterol for the soul." Consumerism doesn't provide a real sense of well being, or more important, a real purpose.

Being a part of and improving a community does provide real purpose. This purpose requires no marking research, Madison Avenue firms, or focus groups.

[zenpundit]

Yeah, but real purpose cause people to pick up automatic weapons and storm buildings. Maybe we should just let them have the frigging portable DVD blue-ray disc compact player and call it even. ;)

[Seerov]

"Maybe we should just let them have the frigging portable DVD blue-ray disc compact player and call it even. ;)" (Zen)

I don't think we can anymore? Trust me, I'd go back to the 50's or 90's good time consumerist days, unforchantly, I think we may be headed for relative instability? Hopefully no one will have to storm any buildings? But when consumerism is gone, the NFL folds, and unemployment is at 25%, what will people start caring about?

I try to picture what this will look like?

[twitter.com/majorwho]

Tal Ben Shahar explores happiness and what makes people successful.

'material affluence is not correlated with happiness, except in extreme cases'

http://bigthink.com/talbenshahar/happiness-the-opiate-of-the-people