4 ms·

Isn't consumerism caused by capitalism?

by Kaze404 7y ago

rayiner 7y ago
No?
- claudiawerner 7y ago
  Consumerism, at the least, is dependent on capitalism's core feature, generalized commodity production. So far, that seems true - was there any consumerism in pre-capitalist societies? I'd hazard a guess and say no. If consumerism is further driven by advertising, it depends on capitalism even more. This paper[0] persausively argues that consumerism is a consequence of specifically capitalist society, considered in its historical development. [0] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470670590.wbeog099 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/978047067059...
  - rexpop 7y ago
    I find it so difficult to understand the mental gymnastics necessary to "shift blame" over certain types of suffering from "capitalism" to "consumerism" or "cronyism" as though those ideologies (and accompanying institutions) were independent tragedies, liable to manifest in any cultural substrate. There's no cancer in bricks, and no commodity fetishism in a socialist economy. edit: truly bewildering to me folks think they're doing a service to themselves of their society by silently downvoting me.
    - kick 7y ago
      News Guidelines: Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Commenting on votes will only make you get downvoted more, regardless of how virtuous your comment was.
      - rexpop 7y ago
        Pedant.
adamrezich 7y ago
Perhaps, but does it have to be?
- kazagistar 7y ago
  What force will stop it? Things are how they are because of the systems that exist. Changing how things are requires changing one or more things about those systems.
  - adamrezich 7y ago
    Sure but that doesn't mean entire existing systems need to be thrown out and replaced wholesale by completely different ideology-based systems
    - Kaze404 7y ago
      While I disagree, I never suggested that with my comment.

Isn't consumerism caused by capitalism?

rayiner 7y ago

No?

claudiawerner 7y ago
Consumerism, at the least, is dependent on capitalism's core feature, generalized commodity production. So far, that seems true - was there any consumerism in pre-capitalist societies? I'd hazard a guess and say no. If consumerism is further driven by advertising, it depends on capitalism even more. This paper[0] persausively argues that consumerism is a consequence of specifically capitalist society, considered in its historical development. [0] https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470670590.wbeog099 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/978047067059...
- rexpop 7y ago
  I find it so difficult to understand the mental gymnastics necessary to "shift blame" over certain types of suffering from "capitalism" to "consumerism" or "cronyism" as though those ideologies (and accompanying institutions) were independent tragedies, liable to manifest in any cultural substrate. There's no cancer in bricks, and no commodity fetishism in a socialist economy. edit: truly bewildering to me folks think they're doing a service to themselves of their society by silently downvoting me.
  - kick 7y ago
    News Guidelines: Please don't comment about the voting on comments. It never does any good, and it makes boring reading. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html Commenting on votes will only make you get downvoted more, regardless of how virtuous your comment was.
    - rexpop 7y ago
      Pedant.

adamrezich 7y ago

Perhaps, but does it have to be?

kazagistar 7y ago
What force will stop it? Things are how they are because of the systems that exist. Changing how things are requires changing one or more things about those systems.
- adamrezich 7y ago
  Sure but that doesn't mean entire existing systems need to be thrown out and replaced wholesale by completely different ideology-based systems
  - Kaze404 7y ago
    While I disagree, I never suggested that with my comment.