As all great essays generally start (lol), I heard something very interesting on a YouTube podcast. I wish I could say that I was a voracious reader, but unfortunately, I’m more of a voracious YouTube podcast watcher. So I’m always coming across essay-worthy tidbits during my big-brother-platform deep dives.
I know the suspense is killing you already, so here it is:
A content person is a broken consumer.
Isn’t that brilliant? It’s poetic. And it touches two of my favorite subjects: how to live a life of contentment, and the idea of underconsumption (or, more bluntly, the evils of a consumption-based economy).
I figured, even though we’ve explored this subject ad nauseam, why not take another run at it? I mean, we have this wonderful quote to work with. So here’s my take.
A consumption-based economy – or more specifically, an overconsumption-based economy – works best when it can convince consumers (that’s you and me) that we could never be content without the next purchase. We’re constantly being sold the idea that something is missing from our lives. That we’re not quite complete. And that whatever it is we lack can only be found in the marketplace… for the right price.
In fact, without a widespread sense of discontentment, the entire economy would collapse. What better way to motivate unbridled, perpetual spending than to keep people chasing the longing at the core of our being: self-satisfaction, self-love, self-worth; and ultimately, contentment.
The system simply cannot afford for people to become content. A content person lacks sufficient motivation to keep participating in the big machine of consumption. If someone realizes they already have what they truly need, what are they going to chase? What are they going to spend money on? And if they don’t feel that existential drive to purchase, what motivation do they have to work harder and produce even more goods for consumption?
It’s an endless cycle. A closed loop.
Stimulate desire to consume → need money to consume → must work to earn money, while simultaneously producing goods for consumption → take the money earned and buy the products other people made for consumption.
It’s an economic circle jerk. Oh my.
But this is the system. This is how it was designed. This is how it works. And anything that disrupts that circle interrupts the smooth flow of the machine.
I know it might sound like I’m complaining about the way things are, but I’m really not. Consumption is inevitable. Work is inevitable. Money is inevitable. I’m not casting shade on the concept itself.
What I am saying is that it’s out of control. That it should be better managed. That the motivations behind all these components should be more ethical; based on something other than pure greed.
So what if people did become more content? What if the underconsumption, minimalism, and buy-nothing movements gained real traction? What if people started pursuing contentment instead of consumption?
Would the whole system come crashing down, or would it facilitate a transition to something healthier?
Economically speaking, I’m not exactly sure what that transition would look like. I imagine it would depend on how smoothly it happened. But the other side of the coin is this: people might actually find more contentment in their lives.
A healthier, more sustainable economic system. A more contented population.
That seems like a pretty good idea.
Maybe we should explore it for real. Maybe we should take a few small steps in that direction.
The worst that could happen is that you’re a little bit happier.
And hopefully, we end up with a more sane economic system to boot.
Cheers, friends. Let’s keep discovering together.
Join us in making the world a better place. You’ll be glad that you did.