Back in the 80’s (I think) there was a movie with Michael Douglas as Gordon Gecko (Again, I think!- of course I could just Google itI) that spawned the seemingly immortal line “Greed is Good” – this coming directly post the Regan/Thatcher era. Whilst it appears apposite to the Trump era this line is still being used as a mantra by the deluded.
Is this self-obsessed world purely a product of the Booth School of Business (Chicago) or was it inevitable as a product of advertising – a subject I felt drawn to as a child and eventually worked in after graduating, only just – I hereby admit, in Applied Physics).
That ‘the profit motive’ seemingly applies to all of mankind’s endeavours (at least for the WEIRDS – look it up!) is not only evidenced in the monetisation efforts of my fellow ‘commercially oriented’ peers but also by the abject sense of failure we sense when we fail (in our own sense) to become ‘wealthy’ or Rich.
This failure for us individually to feel ‘wealthy’ is essentially the objective of the Advertising Industry (so ‘Job Done’ then). This leaves us ‘aspirationals’ motivated to do whatever it takes (including massive personal sacrifices and making decisions that are against our own best interests!) to fund our ‘created by others’ desire to own something (or in most cases – merely own the right to use) such is the rentier economy we find ourselves in.
My solution to this may appear simplistic and/or insufficiently commercial but I’d like to remind all people that we as individuals are rich (collectively even more so!). We are ‘rich’ because we can experience many things – all of which are effectively priceless. There follows a non-exhaustive list of things that I (and, as I’m nothing special, ‘we’ might be used in substitution) can and do experience (feel free to add your own experiences): Love, Poetry, Music, Sunrise and Sunset, The Night Sky (Stars) and yes, even mundane tasks like driving or riding a bike (do you think a self-driving car experiences the sense of mastery in a well executed overtaking manoeuvre?) We might even enjoy laughter – either the act itself or perhaps our ability to realise it in others
So what I’m really proposing is that we should be in awe of our ability to be in awe – not only of our selves but of everything that makes up ‘our world’. There is no need to be a Billionaire or even ‘comfortably well off’. Whilst these people may ( in most cases?) seem ‘harmless’ their basic aspirations mean that you’ll have to give up your autonomy.