The scourge of consumerism continues to rule past 2017 -Editorial

..Editorial

Chitral : One of the outfalls of Capitalism is the pestilence of Consumerism which like the pathology of time- we are suffering from. Consumerism has reigned supreme throughout the outgoing 2017. There is no dearth of wealth in the world to be distributed judicially amongst it’s people, but the concentration of wealth in few hands a.k.a capitalism, which creates and promotes unhealthy consumerism, has hindered simple living and thus negatively affected social justice in the world. Skyscrapers full of shopping malls, proliferation of consumer items on the internet and encouragement of compulsive shopping through advertisements is so strong an industry that humanity is caught in the fit of it.

People work day and night to earn money and then give away the money at shopping malls, display outlets, online stores and virtual vending applications, to buy mostly thing they don’t need -only desire. A look inside any large shopping mall would prove the point how easily people loose their money to binge and impulsive shopping. Shopping to them seems their proof of being alive. Carrying a large shopping bag of a branded outlet is a show and symbol of their status to others.

What if consumerism is discouraged with the same resolve as it is being encouraged now? What if simple and clean living is promoted and people of the world seek comfort and solace in their inner joys instead of unnecessary material possessions? What if people seek happiness in sharing their money with the less fortunate rather than throwing it on the Guccis, the Versaces, the Valentinos, the Rolexes, the Rolls Royces and the such like nauseating riff raffs..? What if people realise that they can travel in a 10,000$ car almost as comfortably as in a 200,000$ one, only if they can bridle their egos.

The consumer industry prods the people to get more and more into its throe by building exotic shopping malls and creates artificial environments which daze the shopper into spending more and more. What does the shopping person get. Mostly something at an exorbitant price which he could have easily done without. The end result is a rat race resulting in gains to the capitalistic consumer industry and temporary euphoria to the consumer.

If the whole world follows the Scandinavian model of social justice, if the world population is indoctrinated through aggressive sermons and media propagation about the virtues of simplistic and minimalist living, most problems of the people would dissipate and we would have a much better world to live in. .. CN Editorial, 30 Dec 2017

One thought on “The scourge of consumerism continues to rule past 2017 -Editorial

  1. In Pakistan if a restriction is put on houses measuring more than one Kanal and owning cars more than 1500 cc, the rat race will subside to quite an extent. Humans by nature like to show off and desire more than their needs. For this, there is all the greed, dishonesty and corruption that we see.This can be scientifically managed to quite an extent with administrative reforms and management .

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