June 19th - Capitalist growth feeds off human psyche

 Be great if you could take a look at my ramblings on what's gone wrong in the world and how we can change direction - started on March 3rd.  Be good to hear your comments ...  I've now found out how to set up the 'send posts to my e-mail' facility so if you'd like to use that please click the button on the right
 I realise that I, like practically everyone else, am caught up in a great consumer 'cage' (as Tim Jackson refers to it). I don't think I'm easily duped...I like to think that I'm intelligent enough ... that I consider how I'm living my life.  And yet, I easily find myself buying yet more 'stuff', much of it which I don't really need.  So, just what is going on?   Tim Jackson explains that anthropologists have found that ever since Man's earliest days he has used material possessions as a sort of language which conveys status, our place in the order of things and the fact that we 'belong' in a particular culture. Leaders in ancient tribes had the biggest hut and their wives had the most ornate necklaces. If something was rare it became desired and was acquired by those in power.  Material possessions have always indicated power and status. Having the latest fashionable clothes and gizmoes signals that we are part of the group, and a successful member of the group at that.
This aquisitiveness and our love of novelty feeds capital's need for growth but we are rarely satisfied, in fact the system depends of us feeling discontented so that we will go out and buy. For a great explanation its really worth watching Tim Jackson's TED talk on http://www.ted.com/talks/tim_jackson_s_economic_reality_check