4 ms·

That's the beauty of consumerism; capitalism constantly invents new desires to be satisfied.

dasil003 5y ago
It's deeper than that. How long do people tend to stay happy after they get what they long desired (material or otherwise)?
- steveylang 5y ago
  Especially if their neighbor/co-worker/social peer just got the bigger and better version?
- croes 5y ago
  Sounds more like a mental than economical problem.
  - ben_w 5y ago
    We could end desire with various combination of drugs, brain surgery, or generic engineering. This seems dystopian to me. I don’t know which is less dystopian though, that, or a Malthusian crisis in a K3 civilization, or any of the other ways this can go wrong. I am hopeful for the future in many ways; this may well be solvable.
    - croes 5y ago
      No need to go dystopian. There a difference between desire and greed. If you are never satisfied you are greedy and should seek mental help, it's the same with being hungry no matter how much you eat.
      - ben_w 5y ago
        Such people exist, and enough don’t seek help. Would you choose to force them to get help, or would you choose to let them consume ever more?
      - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
        >If you are never satisfied That is the human condition though. No matter how much we have we soon get used to it, take it for granted and start looking for more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
  - MomoXenosaga 5y ago
    Economics was literally invented by man. It is a social science although economists will deny this even under pain of torture.
    - croes 5y ago
      And much of economics describes the behavior of psychopaths.
      - CryptoPunk 5y ago
        The demonization of Economics is as common amongst the fringe left as the demonization of vaccination is amongst the fringe right.
        croes 5y ago
        The fringe of Economics is evil. Gordon Gekko and Jordan Belfort are the bad guys
        CryptoPunk 5y ago
        Gordon Gekko and Jordan Belfort are not economists..
lotsofpulp 5y ago
Striving for relative prosperity compared to others seems like an inherent mechanism for human mating rather than capitalism.

It's deeper than that. How long do people tend to stay happy after they get what they long desired (material or otherwise)?

steveylang 5y ago
Especially if their neighbor/co-worker/social peer just got the bigger and better version?
croes 5y ago
Sounds more like a mental than economical problem.
- ben_w 5y ago
  We could end desire with various combination of drugs, brain surgery, or generic engineering. This seems dystopian to me. I don’t know which is less dystopian though, that, or a Malthusian crisis in a K3 civilization, or any of the other ways this can go wrong. I am hopeful for the future in many ways; this may well be solvable.
  - croes 5y ago
    No need to go dystopian. There a difference between desire and greed. If you are never satisfied you are greedy and should seek mental help, it's the same with being hungry no matter how much you eat.
    - ben_w 5y ago
      Such people exist, and enough don’t seek help. Would you choose to force them to get help, or would you choose to let them consume ever more?
    - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
      >If you are never satisfied That is the human condition though. No matter how much we have we soon get used to it, take it for granted and start looking for more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedonic_treadmill
- MomoXenosaga 5y ago
  Economics was literally invented by man. It is a social science although economists will deny this even under pain of torture.
  - croes 5y ago
    And much of economics describes the behavior of psychopaths.
    - CryptoPunk 5y ago
      The demonization of Economics is as common amongst the fringe left as the demonization of vaccination is amongst the fringe right.
      - croes 5y ago
        The fringe of Economics is evil. Gordon Gekko and Jordan Belfort are the bad guys
        CryptoPunk 5y ago
        Gordon Gekko and Jordan Belfort are not economists..

lotsofpulp 5y ago

Striving for relative prosperity compared to others seems like an inherent mechanism for human mating rather than capitalism.