What's the issue with consumerism

There are a lot of groups in society that rail against consumerism. I have a hard time clearly interpreting the semantics in the discourse, some view consumerism as an attack on the earth, others see as a frivolous pan-societal addiction – an instant gratification fest – and others see both these elements as reasons to speak out against it. I am inclined to agree with both these positions, they are valid concerns. What is invalid, however, is attaching these concerns to a market economy. A market economy does manage to sell some stupid junk, but please remember, it provides a larger portion of essentials. Please examine the most commoditized markets – FOOD – it comes to those is market economies in such abundance that we get too much. You can argue that the world food distribution system is faulty because there is a bottom billion, please also remember, that the bottom billion, for the most part, are outside the Anglo / Euro economic sphere. – our task is to have them join us in prosperity.

The Dollar Store dilemma; trinkets abound and even the poor can buy them in abundance – one piece of plastic after another is an affront to the environment and effects an ill in the development of children, whereby, children exist in a mountain of frivolous simulation absent focused activity. There is a triple whammy here, there is the initial true waste of resources, there is the distraction from learning and there is an inter-generational conditioning factor whereby, children accept the culture of pacification by distraction. So consumerism in this context is a concern, it is a cultural element made possible by the efficiency of the market system. The solution is to change the cultural element, as opposed to the annihilation of the market economy. This phenomenon is in no way a call to Trotskyism, it is rather a call to enlighten the affected to the ills of their ways and to show them the path to a fulfilled and whole existence.

The challenge that emerges out of the fight against consumerism is, that people are ofttimes raising the alarm to the ill, to channel attention to a political objective, rather than, to seek a solution within the context of contemporary society. They tend to point to consumerism as an inevitable extension of the market economy and offer it as a part of a complex of factors that doom humanity to ruin under the rubric of capitalism. I am here to say that consumerism is damaging and requires a concerted effort by civil society and government to educate and redirect, AND the market economy has delivered more prosperity to the populace than any other system in human history – so it should be maintained and enhanced rune under the rubric of capitalism.

More Thinking on the Subject

Environmentalism Reconsidered - First Thoughts

Environmentalism Reconsidered - Scarcity Doctrine
Environmentalism Reconsidered - Agriculture & Scale
Environmentalism Reconsidered - Narrative & Origin
Environmentalism Reconsidered Lessons From Canadian Cod
Environmentalism Reconsidered - Connecting Carbon to the Economy
Canadian Oil V World Oil
Environmentalism Redefined - Road to Prosperity
Environment Reconsidered - A Positive Strategy

MY PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

The Problem with Carbon Tax
Oil Sands Moratorium - wrong wrong wrong

 

Who aspires to ordinary?

MY PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

I’ve wanted to be a lot of things in my life, but ordinary, never – I take comfort in never having had anyone accuse me of being ordinary. The challenge with people who espouse about “ordinary” is that I think they see themselves as ordinary absent any clear definition of ordinary, except perhaps the juxtaposing to extra-ordinary. There are some who voice support for ordinary people; they want to build policy for “ordinary” people so government serves the ordinary, ordinarily. The challenge I have is that in all my time on earth I have never met an ordinary person, in the very middle of the societal bell curve, I have never encountered “ordinary” people – there I have found the extra-ordinary amongst the “ordinary”.

MY PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

I spent most of my life at the altar of exceptionalism, reading Winston Churchill speeches and the like, it was my first and only wife, that taught me about the extra-ordinary amongst the ordinary. When I was reading about Mr. Churchill, she would be talking about a neighbor. She had the capacity to admire the people who filled her everyday life, to see and appreciate a quality that a person possessed – save perhaps the person who left their socks on the floor one too many times. This is a lesson I got from one that considered herself from the ranks of the ordinary, it was a good one.

MY PROFESSIONAL WEBSITE

The point here is that the only time there can be ordinary people is when you’re looking at a “herd” of people, the moment you take person out of the “herd” they become exceptional. Therein lays the evil in collectivism. Whenever you aggregate human existence, an ill-defined blob is born where an individual use to be, where there was once a thousand flowers to bloom, there is now no flower to be noticed. The tall poppy syndrome comes to play, it is necessary only because collectivism wants people to be the same, treated the same, having the same – no exceptional individuals. My wife’s lesson was that all people are exceptional; my observation is they get lost in a crowd. 

MORE ON CANADA'S CULTURE

Canadian Identity - Scottish – Anglo contribution diminished in national narrative & culture

Canadian identity is nebulous, with the Anglo-Franco-cultural patrician interspersed with hundreds of other nationalities and the First Nations, we truly are a mixed bag. Multiculturalism and the omnipresent “diversity” are words often lifting tenuously from the chatter of uncertain youths. It seems the most unifying element of our national narrative is hockey, a wonderful game where our excellence is unquestioned and rarely surpassed.

Something is missing for me though, the real meat I draw on for identity comes mostly from my Scottish heritage – it has a strong presence within me, so when asked what my nationality is, I normally say Scottish. My grandfather was Scottish and came via England at the turn of the Century, my mother’s family built one of the first twenty houses in Toronto. Short of being indigenous, it is hard to imagine anyone more Canadian. When someone asks where are your from, I respond “Canada of course.”

A lot of my sense of Canadianess stems from our association with the British Empire. The Scots and the Canadians both have an inextricable link to the British Empire; they say the Scots ran much of it! Canada was birthed and preserved by loyalists in many respects. As the British Empire played such a large part in our formation, it seems fitting to give it - its due in the mashup that is forming our narrative. Like all entities of expansion and greatness, the British Empire stepped on some toes, the British Empire’s net affect on Canada has been overwhelmingly positive. I am often disappointed in the contemporary media’s absence of deference and at times holding contempt for, a great contributor to Canada’s creation. As, at times, one begins to believe Anglo bashing is the new national blood sport.         

I think it is useful to point out to our youth, to look around the world and observe where the prosperity is and is not. Countries sporting the British Parliamentary system and common law have among them the most prosperous nations. The British System of government has spawned free and highly egalitarian states with unprecedented wealth; they are all there to look at, shinning examples. So while there may have been some missteps along the way, Canadians should pay homage to our association with the British Empire, and happily preserve its presence in the Canadian culture.

As a Scot / Anglo, I sense a disproportionate depletion of our presence in the counties narrative. When positive Anglo influence is presented, it tends to be submitted to revisionist history, unless its an example of a racially related event, then the press seems to pay attention to crossing every t and dotting every i. Any racially related piece of legislation is unacceptable in a contemporary setting, when Canada was being created the world was a racial  place – a most unfortunate part of human history – but history none the less.  

This is my attempt at pushing back against a trend toward the marginalisation of my socio-ethnic group, the often maligned White Anglo Saxon Protestant. Often viewed as the imperialistic majority by the other’s we’ve become the subject of much abuse, and while a long way from being a marginalised minority, there is a trend in Canadian Society to permit detracting discourse toward us. Most importantly, my children are of the same ilk and as such I want them to take pride in their heritage in unison with the other ethnic groups in Canadian society taking pride in their heritage. There is a tendency in contemporary Canadian society to take every opportunity to besmirch the Anglo aspects of our history. The very process of committing to paper comments recognising my heritage come’s with trepidation, as I feel when I talk about my heritage it may be construed as racist given the back drop of contemporary discourse. I am extremely proud of my heritage, as should be the first nations and other ethic groups in Canada.

There are several events that demonstrate the curtailment of Anglo ethnic expression in Canadian society. Two events in particular come to mind, firstly, there was the Canadian Heritage Society’s attempt to stage a re-enactment of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, and secondly, there was the CBC production about Rene Leveque. The Canadian Heritage Society attempt to stage a battle re-enactment was halted by the threat of violence from extreme factions in Quebec. The Battle of the Plans of Abraham is an important part of Canadian history and deserves to be recounted and viewed in its proper place as history. By contrast, a government agency financed the telling of a story of a man whose main aim was the fracturing of the Canadian federation. Both are valid parts of our history to be recounted for our people, yet one gains the sanction by government funding and the other is stifled. This is a glaring inequity that brings to light a trend in Canada. I am sure if polled, most people in Quebec would agree there is an inequity here. As a Canadian I embrace the colour the Franco component brings to our nations identity, it is fair I think, to pursue equity in the telling of our history. When a mother is blessed with her first child she loves that child completely and when the second comes, she loves that one completely. Her love for the second child in no way diminishes her love for the first – there is an expansion of spirit to accommodate the feeling for both. I am willing to take this step forward with my ethnicity intact.