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But isn't it the well oiled marketing and advertising industry that is keeping us constantly unhappy and forcing us to compare our own (projected) shortcomings

But isn't it the well oiled marketing and advertising industry that is keeping us constantly unhappy and forcing us to compare our own (projected) shortcomings against others? My hypothesis is that wealthier people are even deeper in this trap, as once you can afford nice clothes, accessories, cars, houses etc., you are immediately exposed to others in the same (or higher) wealth bracket, thus exacerbating these feelings of comparison and inadequacy. It is a self destructive feeding frenzy that can never assuage itself.

Declanomous 8y ago
I think this is partly why "old money" isn't flashy like nouveau rich money. It's easier to blow a fortune than it is to make a fortune.
combatentropy 8y ago
It is not advertisers who are all to blame. Pride and envy predate magazines and TV.
- dagw 8y ago
  Pride and envy predate magazines and TV. So does advertising.
- eeZah7Ux 8y ago
  So does cholera. But if you spend your work time trying to spread cholera you get a bit of blame.
rgbrenner 8y ago
It isn't the marketing and advertising industry. Greed, Pride, Lust, Envy, Gluttony - 5 of the 7 deadly sins.. Aristotle might not have reduced it to such a short list, but he wrote plenty on similar ideas. So there's 2300 years on paper... It's really human nature.
- tonyedgecombe 8y ago
  Yes but the marketing industry fans the flames. Edward Bernays has a lot to answer for.
- lelima 8y ago
  that just remind me of the movie Seven, maybe the guy was right(?)
golergka 8y ago
Regardless of what other people are trying to get your to do, unless they actually force you, you're the only one responsible for your decisions. Stop trying to find a scrapegoat.
- mmsimanga 8y ago
  Look I agree with you. Everyman should make their their own decisions and do what is right for them. However advertising has had a massive impact on how we see the world. You only need read about how de Beers the world's largest diamond producer changed our perception of diamonds [1]. There all manner of adverts designed to make you feel incomplete. I don't have links now but there have been a few stories here on HN which show what we regard as the norm now was nothing more than advertising campaign. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/how-an-ad-campaign-invented-the-diamond-engagement-ring/385376/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/ho...
  - golergka 8y ago
    Yes, people try to manipulate you all the time. My point is - it's fair game. It's exactly the game that all of us are playing all the time, it's pretty fun, it's challenging, and I see no point in painting someone as immoral just because they're winning at it.
    - anoncake 8y ago
      Not all of us play this "game". Most of us aren't psychopaths.
      - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
        But you have to coexist with everyone else in a society that finds advertising, manipulation (to an extent) and other things psychopaths excel at tolerable. There's a whole range of "bad" things that society finds tolerable (I'm talking in general, not specifically advertising or trying to manipulate people) and if you cannot stand one/many of those things then you're free to live in a log cabin in the woods. I'd love to not play the taxes game or put up with the paternalistic government I live under but it just so happens that it's a prerequisite to being part of society. I'm free to screw off to some log cabin in the woods but I'd rather live within society even if it had some problems.
eeZah7Ux 8y ago
Of course, and that's why a lot of billionaires are obsessed with flaunting their wealth and earning even more.
commandlinefan 8y ago
> isn't it the well oiled marketing and advertising industry that is keeping us constantly unhappy and forcing us to compare our own (projected) shortcomings against others? No, that's our wives.

Declanomous 8y ago

I think this is partly why "old money" isn't flashy like nouveau rich money. It's easier to blow a fortune than it is to make a fortune.

combatentropy 8y ago

It is not advertisers who are all to blame. Pride and envy predate magazines and TV.

dagw 8y ago
Pride and envy predate magazines and TV. So does advertising.
eeZah7Ux 8y ago
So does cholera. But if you spend your work time trying to spread cholera you get a bit of blame.

rgbrenner 8y ago

It isn't the marketing and advertising industry. Greed, Pride, Lust, Envy, Gluttony - 5 of the 7 deadly sins.. Aristotle might not have reduced it to such a short list, but he wrote plenty on similar ideas. So there's 2300 years on paper... It's really human nature.

tonyedgecombe 8y ago
Yes but the marketing industry fans the flames. Edward Bernays has a lot to answer for.
lelima 8y ago
that just remind me of the movie Seven, maybe the guy was right(?)

golergka 8y ago

Regardless of what other people are trying to get your to do, unless they actually force you, you're the only one responsible for your decisions. Stop trying to find a scrapegoat.

mmsimanga 8y ago
Look I agree with you. Everyman should make their their own decisions and do what is right for them. However advertising has had a massive impact on how we see the world. You only need read about how de Beers the world's largest diamond producer changed our perception of diamonds [1]. There all manner of adverts designed to make you feel incomplete. I don't have links now but there have been a few stories here on HN which show what we regard as the norm now was nothing more than advertising campaign. [1] https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/how-an-ad-campaign-invented-the-diamond-engagement-ring/385376/ https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/02/ho...
- golergka 8y ago
  Yes, people try to manipulate you all the time. My point is - it's fair game. It's exactly the game that all of us are playing all the time, it's pretty fun, it's challenging, and I see no point in painting someone as immoral just because they're winning at it.
  - anoncake 8y ago
    Not all of us play this "game". Most of us aren't psychopaths.
    - dsfyu404ed 8y ago
      But you have to coexist with everyone else in a society that finds advertising, manipulation (to an extent) and other things psychopaths excel at tolerable. There's a whole range of "bad" things that society finds tolerable (I'm talking in general, not specifically advertising or trying to manipulate people) and if you cannot stand one/many of those things then you're free to live in a log cabin in the woods. I'd love to not play the taxes game or put up with the paternalistic government I live under but it just so happens that it's a prerequisite to being part of society. I'm free to screw off to some log cabin in the woods but I'd rather live within society even if it had some problems.

eeZah7Ux 8y ago

Of course, and that's why a lot of billionaires are obsessed with flaunting their wealth and earning even more.

commandlinefan 8y ago

> isn't it the well oiled marketing and advertising industry that is keeping us constantly unhappy and forcing us to compare our own (projected) shortcomings against others? No, that's our wives.