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You'd have to make a meaningful connection between growth and advertising, and you can't. The reason Western countries are increasing the immigration rate is pr

You'd have to make a meaningful connection between growth and advertising, and you can't. The reason Western countries are increasing the immigration rate is precisely to perpetuate GDP, fertility rate is otherwise stagnant. This means people aren't individually increasing their rate of purchasing stuff over time, in fact many buy less than their parents did. Look around in your room and you'll probably see the average amount of "useless stuff" purchased by household. Are you drowning in it? Neither is anyone else. Innovation isn't just for the energy sector either. Consumables create less waste over time. Biodegradables are making a big entry in the market. All this means is that as the population levels out (as it is projected to), consumption will create less and less waste. At any rate this falls into the same category, coercion. People want things, especially if they improve their lives. Much of what you take for granted now was advertised. Take-out food, vehicles, smartphones and computers and media, etc. Yeah, "nothing of value". I don't think you get to decide what people value, that's what the market is for.

felixmeziere 4y ago
Absolutely agree with tsimionescu
tsimionescu 4y ago
Advertising's purpose is to distort the market. And yes, people are absolutely buying more garbage than their parents - and certainly their grandparents. Look at clothes, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, cars - those all used to be more or less lifetime purchases, and have become things people change every 5-7 years top (much less for clothes). Not to mention things like buying new phones and other electronics every year or two. These changes are all products of marketing and advertising to a great extent. Stopping these industries (or at least greatly curtailing their power) would help correct the market back into a more rational place.
- lanfeust6 4y ago
  > And yes, people are absolutely buying more garbage than their parents Source please. 1 in 8 Americans are food insecure, cost of living has been climbing for decades, more than half say they live paycheck-to-paycheck and many say they'll never afford a house. So, which is it, is the economic climate better for millennials and zoomers or worse? Pick one. Because I doubt you would suggest to struggling Americans and Westerners that they are just squandering their money irresponsibly. > Look at clothes, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, cars - those all used to be more or less lifetime purchases, and have become things people change every 5-7 years top (much less for clothes). That changed quite awhile ago, with boomers and the ascendance of the middle class, and you just made that number up. Clothing is not built to last. A suit can with care, but not a t-shirt. Notwithstanding that the waste we're concerned with hasn't to do with cotton material or jewelry, probably not even appliances. A large amount of waste comes from containers and packaging. That is completely agnostic of the products themselves, there's no reason this can't be improved. There's also nondurable goods, durable goods and food. Check out this fact sheet for municipal solid waste - https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/20... , and more from the epa. > Advertising's purpose is to distort the market. Indeed, and yet it's irrelevant. It doesn't perform miracles. The most meaningful correction you can make to level of waste clearly has no dependence on advertising. Everything uses too much packaging, and food providers waste an inordinate amount.

felixmeziere 4y ago

Absolutely agree with tsimionescu

tsimionescu 4y ago

Advertising's purpose is to distort the market. And yes, people are absolutely buying more garbage than their parents - and certainly their grandparents. Look at clothes, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, cars - those all used to be more or less lifetime purchases, and have become things people change every 5-7 years top (much less for clothes). Not to mention things like buying new phones and other electronics every year or two. These changes are all products of marketing and advertising to a great extent. Stopping these industries (or at least greatly curtailing their power) would help correct the market back into a more rational place.

lanfeust6 4y ago
> And yes, people are absolutely buying more garbage than their parents Source please. 1 in 8 Americans are food insecure, cost of living has been climbing for decades, more than half say they live paycheck-to-paycheck and many say they'll never afford a house. So, which is it, is the economic climate better for millennials and zoomers or worse? Pick one. Because I doubt you would suggest to struggling Americans and Westerners that they are just squandering their money irresponsibly. > Look at clothes, jewelry, furniture, home appliances, cars - those all used to be more or less lifetime purchases, and have become things people change every 5-7 years top (much less for clothes). That changed quite awhile ago, with boomers and the ascendance of the middle class, and you just made that number up. Clothing is not built to last. A suit can with care, but not a t-shirt. Notwithstanding that the waste we're concerned with hasn't to do with cotton material or jewelry, probably not even appliances. A large amount of waste comes from containers and packaging. That is completely agnostic of the products themselves, there's no reason this can't be improved. There's also nondurable goods, durable goods and food. Check out this fact sheet for municipal solid waste - https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/2018_ff_fact_sheet_dec_2020_fnl_508.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2021-01/documents/20... , and more from the epa. > Advertising's purpose is to distort the market. Indeed, and yet it's irrelevant. It doesn't perform miracles. The most meaningful correction you can make to level of waste clearly has no dependence on advertising. Everything uses too much packaging, and food providers waste an inordinate amount.