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The problem is, the entire purpose of life is to sell. People sell themselves just by brushing their teeth in the morning, so that they're more marketable than

The problem is, the entire purpose of life is to sell. People sell themselves just by brushing their teeth in the morning, so that they're more marketable than the slob that doesn't. I am selling you my influence right now.

ThomPete 11y ago
Yup. I am with you.
Retra 11y ago
I brush my teeth because I don't want them to rot out of my face and make my life difficult. And I'm writing this comment because I think your perspective is amateurish and stupid, and maybe I'm really just a compulsive asshole. You're pounding round pegs into square holes and just ignoring the shredded bits that went flying when you did that.
- mozumder 11y ago
  No, you wouldn't care about "making life difficult" if you weren't selling yourself. Everybody markets.. some are just better at it than others. You exist to market yourself. The moment you partake in a social group, whether it's through one more person, or through a nation, you have marketed.
  - Retra 11y ago
    That's an extremely myopic way of looking at it. Not everything that is done is done solely for the benefit of the one doing it. And I really don't see why you're so committed to generalizing marketing and sales terminology into a general human philosophy, save for your lack of familiarity with the existing, perfectly suitable terminology. More importantly, human identity is complex and multi-faceted, and is not entirely defined by human individuality. I can see myself as an individual, and maybe I'm selling something there, but if I see myself as a living creature, there is nothing for me to sell myself to, since rocks and stars don't give a shit what I'm 'selling.' Humanity itself is not selling anything, and my ability to see myself as an agent of humanity precludes me from selling anything in that role. So anything I do in service of those goals isn't marketing. Imagine you just stubbed your toe. You've just participated in life. Now what are you 'selling' by doing that? Nothing.
nether 11y ago
"Men are estranged from one another as each secretly tries to make an instrument of the other, and in time a full circle is made: one makes an instrument of himself and is estranged from it also." C.W. Mills
thrownear 11y ago
Yes. Nature has given us needs that needs to be full filled, like thirst and hunger. There is also higher level needs, like need to fit in and seen as a desirable mate. What do we get in return of this pursuit? Pleasure in some cases or relief from pain, in other. In other words, it is a fair game, IF you consider that pleasure and pain are "real". Now ads are evil because the create needs that often conflicts with our natural drives. For example, a man who loses sleep, or does not spend time with family for advancing in career, often so that he can buy more stuff. In this case, the man sees pleasure in seeing his bank balance increase and makes him afford more and more expensive stuff. Now this pleasure, I say, is a lie. Because it is not natural, and does not serve a natural purpose. Also, this manipulation by Ads also serves to distract people from constructive thinking. Imagine all the revolutions and all the breakthroughs of the world. They came from People who think freely. When you are distracted 24x7 by ever increasing ads, where do you have time to think for yourself? I am not saying that all the creativity from the world has disappeared. But imagine if the great artists of the past were distracted by Ads like we have today? Do you think the great works in arts and literature would have been created? I am not even considering ads that Inject fear and insecurity into the minds of the masses to make then spend, spend, spend all day long..../rant

ThomPete 11y ago

Yup. I am with you.

Retra 11y ago

I brush my teeth because I don't want them to rot out of my face and make my life difficult. And I'm writing this comment because I think your perspective is amateurish and stupid, and maybe I'm really just a compulsive asshole. You're pounding round pegs into square holes and just ignoring the shredded bits that went flying when you did that.

mozumder 11y ago
No, you wouldn't care about "making life difficult" if you weren't selling yourself. Everybody markets.. some are just better at it than others. You exist to market yourself. The moment you partake in a social group, whether it's through one more person, or through a nation, you have marketed.
- Retra 11y ago
  That's an extremely myopic way of looking at it. Not everything that is done is done solely for the benefit of the one doing it. And I really don't see why you're so committed to generalizing marketing and sales terminology into a general human philosophy, save for your lack of familiarity with the existing, perfectly suitable terminology. More importantly, human identity is complex and multi-faceted, and is not entirely defined by human individuality. I can see myself as an individual, and maybe I'm selling something there, but if I see myself as a living creature, there is nothing for me to sell myself to, since rocks and stars don't give a shit what I'm 'selling.' Humanity itself is not selling anything, and my ability to see myself as an agent of humanity precludes me from selling anything in that role. So anything I do in service of those goals isn't marketing. Imagine you just stubbed your toe. You've just participated in life. Now what are you 'selling' by doing that? Nothing.

nether 11y ago

"Men are estranged from one another as each secretly tries to make an instrument of the other, and in time a full circle is made: one makes an instrument of himself and is estranged from it also." C.W. Mills

thrownear 11y ago

Yes. Nature has given us needs that needs to be full filled, like thirst and hunger. There is also higher level needs, like need to fit in and seen as a desirable mate. What do we get in return of this pursuit? Pleasure in some cases or relief from pain, in other. In other words, it is a fair game, IF you consider that pleasure and pain are "real". Now ads are evil because the create needs that often conflicts with our natural drives. For example, a man who loses sleep, or does not spend time with family for advancing in career, often so that he can buy more stuff. In this case, the man sees pleasure in seeing his bank balance increase and makes him afford more and more expensive stuff. Now this pleasure, I say, is a lie. Because it is not natural, and does not serve a natural purpose. Also, this manipulation by Ads also serves to distract people from constructive thinking. Imagine all the revolutions and all the breakthroughs of the world. They came from People who think freely. When you are distracted 24x7 by ever increasing ads, where do you have time to think for yourself? I am not saying that all the creativity from the world has disappeared. But imagine if the great artists of the past were distracted by Ads like we have today? Do you think the great works in arts and literature would have been created? I am not even considering ads that Inject fear and insecurity into the minds of the masses to make then spend, spend, spend all day long..../rant