That said, travel can so often fit into the “not necessary” category. Even volunteer trips are often unnecessary, unless your act of volunteerism fits into helping out during some kind of localized or global emergency where manpower or your specific skills are truly needed. But you might travel and volunteer to bolster your resume and career skills/options. I think though that if we’re going to put travel into the “possibly not necessary” category, we can also put expensive university and college educations in this cateogory. It always fascinates me how we so unflinchingly nad naturally accept as a society that a post-secondary education is ALWAYS justifiable, even if you spend four years and $40,000 in a BA psych program that you hate and is basically useless on its own.

Neither education nor travel should ever be labeled as “always” or “never” justifiable, because so much depends on the specific situation. People learn a lot through their education, but sometimes all they learn is that they can’t do 10 shots in 10 minutes without passing out. People learn a lot from traveling, but sometimes all they learn is that they can’t do 10 shots in 10 minutes without passing out. The important point is that the potential to really learn a lot is there — and the potential to learn is just not quite AS there when you look at acts of consumption like buying products like clothing or stereos or whatnot.

So in conclusion I think you are right, whenever we buy products or services it’s an act of consumerism, whether it’s a jacket, a university degree, or a trip to Nepal. But for things like travel, we can take steps to make our experience more meaningful to us, our communities, and the world, and therefore a “better” kind fo consumerism.

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Now, happily, I find that my resoucefulness is one of my most useful skills, having turned my hand to everything from translation to illustration and face-painting to make ends meet. And knowing you´ve worked so hard for every penny makes the trip – or the shoes, or the jacket – that bit more special.

One of my friends was stunned that I could afford to travel for 3 months… the truth is, my entire trip probably cost the same as her two week luxury holiday to Cancún.

Volunteering was one way I saved money, as well as being able to give something back… the travel equivalent of the charity shop?! Either way, I, like many others have always recognised travel to be something I am lucky to be able to do, and not an entitlement. Hopefully this makes us more respectful travellers or consumers, even of the end result is the same?

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My experience of university was very different in that I couldn’t afford luxuries like new clothes or to travel. However, I was repeatedly hit with the “logic” that my well-off friends “deserved” to go on vacation for spring break because they “worked so hard”. My friends’ parents deserved vacations more than my self-employed parents because they had the luxury of disposable income and more time off.

But what about people who go on foreign exchanges? Who work or volunteered abroad? Or who save for years for a “once in a lifetime” trip? Maybe it’s the attitude of entitlement, not the travel itself, that is harmful?

I’m not sure what to think. I’m just putting the idea out there.

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What is interesting about all this is how the “generalizations” about Western culture came about in this article. When I first wrote it, I didn’t include anything about WHY I came down with this sudden shopaholic-style problem, because it seemed complex to me, perhaps too complex to get into in the article. However, Ian provoked me by asking me to include something on that subject, a bit that would answer the questions related to the reason behind my somewhat compulsive buying. What motivates people to consume, in the end? Why do we buy things outside of what we actually need?

So I thought more about the factors that contribute to our buying habits as westerners, which are many and complex. The idea of “deserving” the stuff that we buy kept popping back up as I went through the reasons. I truly believe that a great many of us believe that the money we have earned makes us DESERVING of what we buy with it. Don’t YOU think that the money you’ve earned is yours to do with it what you please? And haven’t you ever had someone rationalize to you, when you splurged and bought that great new jacket, new stereo, whatever: “Well, we all deserve a little treat once in awhile.” Or whatever version of that you want. My whole trip to Africa, for example — yes I did volunteer, but it went because it was MY personal dream, and I felt wholly deserving of spending those thousands of dollars that I saved up on a 5-month trip to Africa. Why do we think this way?
it truly is “if you have the money, you deserve to buy it.” I don’t like this part of western culture, partly because we don’t think critically about it often enough.

Of course not everybody thinks this way. But it’s certainly a deeply entrenched, almost subconscious theme in our society. The contrast would be a culture that views things more communally — some African cultures are examples — where what’s mine is yours, what’s his is theirs, and you’ll “loan” your cousin all the money you have without even asking why he needs it. This system is not without its pros and cons, just like the western one has pros and cons as well.

I try not to think ever of the world as an “us/them” kind of place. However, it’s a diverse world, and acknowledging that means recognizing that yes there are distinct cultures within the human race that have discrete worldviews, customs, habits, survival techniques. I really do think that in the west we buy way too much stuff that we don’t need just because it’s there. And I really believe that our “entitlement” mindset towards what we buy is very real and flawed in terms of living sustainably. So these are the aspects of my article that I find troubling — that these generalizations CAN be accurately made.

Anyway thanks for reading my article.

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I think on the “offending people” thing I may have laid down a red herring. I don’t mean we shouldn’t say these things because someone might get their feelings hurt (at least, not just that) – I just mean I think we should always (myself included! guilty at times, I’m sure) take a moment to apply our statements to individuals, and see if they stick. Yes, people get offended because they’re thin-skinned or defensive – but sometimes they also get offended because you (the proverbial you, not any of you yous in particular) are wrong about them, or at least only partially right. And that response – if you imagine that individual being incensed by your statement – can be a warning to you that your argument lacks nuance.

Daniel, you’re completely right on all your points. (And I’m guilty on the Full House re-runs…) But think of Wainanga’s classic, “How To Write About Africa”. I might just as well say, yeah, okay, but there ARE plenty of swollen-bellied children with flies on their eyes! Or whatever other stereotypes he takes down in there. I could turn this around and say, “If I belly up to the bar and say “Africa’s a mess,” of course it’s a generalization! Let it go!”

I don’t raise these objections purely to defend Western society (although I think it gets no credit these days for its many, many positives). I would raise them for any culture being stereotyped so cavalierly (assuming I know enough about it to recognize that it’s happening), because I don’t think things need to be simplified to that extent in order for us to have a productive discussion. There’s always room for nuance.

Ok. This is turning into more than a check-in. Not even sure if I’m making sense. I’ll stop now.

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It’s not about all 9-5ers, it’s about the 9-5ers who never wake up. I’ve got friends in both the awake and asleep columns, and I feel sorry as hell for the ones in full robotic trudge. Erin’s article didn’t offend me in the least.

Eva, I’ve read enough of your work and replies to see where you’re coming from. You don’t like people being lumped together and branded. You don’t like people being made into something less than they are. You don’t like stereotyping or judgmentalism or denegrating. I get it. It’s laudable. Don’t stop. People need heroes and public defenders and so on.

But for Christ’s sake!
- America’s full of thoughtful people, but SOMEbody voted for Bush.
- We’ve got a great literacy rate, but SOMEbody’s not reading the papers.
- People have wonderful taste in art, but SOMEbody’s watching “Full House” reruns on Channel 57.
- This is a remarkably tolerant place to live, but SOMEbody’s standing around with a “God Hates Fags” sign.

Can’t someone write an article that says “gee, something stinks” without a defensive “what’s wrong with America?” response? If I belly up to the bar and say “Western society sucks,” of course it’s a generalization! Let it go! But on the other hand, just MAYBE I have a point.

I agree with this article. After I came back home I had little desire to be in on the latest, and got by with much less than before. It was wonderful. Do I hate people who aren’t like me? No, but I have no wish to live like they do, feel frustrated if they don’t see where I’m coming from, and would rather hang with those who do! I’m not better, they’re not worse, but we ain’t the same!

I’m not trying to offend anyone with the remarks I make – and Eva, I much prefer to be on your good side. But I have to disagree with Tim. Offending people – even intentionally – isn’t a crime, and just because someone’s thin-skinned doesn’t mean everyone else has to kiss their backside. Some very fine things have come out of being selectively offensive and I vastly prefer it to the complacent, shoot-up-with-happy that 100% of the entirety of everyone in all of America is party to.

Right on, Erin. “Let’s put our heads together and start our own country up…”

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Economic Crisis

The global economy is not a simple beast, and generalizations are always fraught, but personally I have no problem making a value judgment about the type of consumerism prevalent in “The West” – and, increasingly, among the elite of the East and the South and everywhere else under the sun.

Throw-away consumerism is a massive problem – owning 50 pairs of shoes or flying to Las Vegas for a round of golf is harmful, the moral equivalent of pissing in the communal reservoir.

The crucial caveat is that shoe shoppers and desert golfers are not immoral, or bad people. It is their actions that are harmful. As a writer, one of my missions is to drive that point home, and advocate a simple, sustainable, healthy, empathetic lifestyle.

The point isn’t to offend people – which never helps with change – it’s to start a discussion, and work to build a critical mass of people who decide clean water is more important than a new TV – or (gasp!) a week-long honeymoon in Bali.

-TP

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