Illusionary wealth as cultural status

It is a common fallacy that turning our society away from materialism is easier said than done. There are, however, many societies in which material wealth was seen as simply a means of pursuing spiritual and cultural wealth, rather than an end in and of itself. The ancient Athenian Greeks, for example, did not use their wealth to pursue the creation and expansion of an empire (the Delian League was an alliance of defense against the Persians, not an Athenian empire); they used it in pursuit of cultural and artistic achievement.

I think the trick would be to modify the cultural definitions of wealth. Current concepts of wealth are tied into consumerism. One of the primary factors in the current economic crisis is the belief by the average consumer that credit equals wealth; the capacity to use credit to acquire material goods, in many minds equals the ability to truly purchase and own. The illusionary "wealth" of credit, and the acquisition of the trappings of wealth, has become more important than what true wealth is supposed to do: decrease the struggle to survive and freeing the mind to pursue goals not directly related to day-to-day survival by increasing leisure time.

Without strong personal and social ties, the only means of acquiring cultural status in through the pursuit of those things that have become representative of cultural status. Rather than a reputation serving this purpose, the artificial and culturally accepted proxy reputation bestowed by consumer brands imparts that status.

Our leaders believe that increasing consumer spending is the key to solving the current economic crisis. I believe that nothing could be further from the truth. The over-reliance on credit got us into this mess. Shifting consumer spending from the credit-based acquisition of status items to cash-based expenditures on staple goods will not only correct current detrimental spending habits, but shift the acquisition of status away from symbols and towards interpersonal relationships, social relationships, and other non-materialistic, culture-strengthening pursuits.


- V.