Material democracy
November 21st, 2006 by Wil Robinson
If Japan has learned anything from their American friends since World War II over years of occupation and military alliances, it’s the consumer culture.
I thought America had the upper hand on living in a material world. The endless marketing, advertising and images that each American faces everyday molds and then fits young US citizens into a world where the consumer is king.
In the US, it begins with the automobile. The highest sign of personal achievement is the vehicle. Big trucks, SUVs, luxury sedans and convertible sports cars tell fellow drivers on the road that you are somebody. But it doesn’t stop with the high-end cars.
Once you’ve got the truck you need jet-skis to trail behind it. And once you’ve arrived home, you need a home electronic system that befits a Hollywood movie producer. Items in the home can be bought fairly cheap at Target, Wal-Mart or Home Depot. It all adds up, and soon the American dream is realized through possession of material goods.
Though slightly different tastes prevail, Japan has the consumer culture in spades. I didn’t think it was possible to go beyond what US marketing schemes have created in America – but Japan has done it.
The differences lie in realities. It’s a smaller country with plenty of people, and they have an extremely efficient bus and train system, so having a car isn’t always necessary (though there is still a lot on the roads). However, the vehicles are much smaller. The Japanese idea of showing off on the road means installing curtains in your car. Spinning rims are non-existent.
But fashion and clothes take over where the automobile leaves off. I have seen more malls and clothing stores with every type of outrageous fashion – and they are always packed with customers. It’s a regular – if not obsessive – pastime in Japan to “go shopping†in your free time, for both men and women.
There are stores everywhere, and it’s typical for an employee to be standing outside of the store with a megaphone yelling at passers-by to come in and buy something. It’s a weird mix of high-technology consumer retail with a Mexico-style shop owner hawking his wares.
I teach English part-time, and regularly ask new students about their hobbies. Without fail, every woman includes “going shopping†as one of their free-time activities. And also without fail, at least half of the men give the same answer. Consumerism may be part of American life – but Americans will rarely admit to it. In contrast, Japan has accepted it and embraced it.
With the quagmire in Iraq, proponents of the war in the US have been advocating “nation-building†and creating the “roots of democracy†in the Middle East. The neo-conservative hawks (and many “liberals†as well) claim a benevolent occupation – that it is an altruistic war for the benefit of the Iraqi people.
As proof of their intent, we often hear top political officials point to the nation-building experiment in post-WWII. The Marshall Plan is given as proof that it is possible to create a free nation that can prosper. We hear about the examples of Germany and Japan and how Iraq will be the next to enjoy the benefits of democracy. But the US has created a false union and preaches that democracy and capitalism must go hand in hand. Therefore, without ever really saying it, the US idea of “democracy” and “freedom” is really about spreading capitalism.
Not to worry, Iraq – look at Germany and Japan and what you can become.
I’ve never been to Germany, so I can’t speak to what kind of consumer culture they have. But after seeing the materialism that exists in Japan, it’s no wonder many Muslims and Iraqis - already fearful of American materialism - don’t want an American-imposed “democracy.â€
Japan democracy US war on terror Islam Iraq materialism consumer media capitalism
i don’t know whether or not you caught susang’s book review over at daily kos a couple of days ago, but, if not, you might be interested in one of the excerpts she included from the book… it fits right in with your thoughts on consumer culture (and mine as well)…
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Bloodthirsty Bitches and Pious Pimps of Power
The Rise and Risk of the New Conservative Hate Culture
By Gerry Spence
St. Martin’s Press
New York, 2006
256 Pages
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There’s no end to my wants because my worth is expressed in the things I have. If I have nothing or little, or at least not as much as Joe Average Hard-Working American, I do not amount to much. We live in a society of things, and I want everything. Everything! …. I call it Thingism. Relentlessly we’re subjected to a propaganda of things called, euphemistically, “advertising.†Out there lies that awful malaise, people who feel numb and dead. To many, life has become a sort of walking death.
**
Can’t we put an end to this endless madness? Can’t we engage in at least a nonviolent revolt against this servitude? But if one is consumed in consumption, in paying off debt, in devoting one’s life to the acquisition and payment of things, then there is no time or energy left to rebel, to consider, to think; to contemplate intelligently about one’s condition, much less the condition of the community, the country, or the world. Thingism leads us to apathy.
I just can’t understand these Muslim Arab Iraqis not wanting the Freedoms and Liberties we have.
The Freedom to become alcholics and drug addicts, and blame it as a disease.
The Liberty to kill your unborn child because it doesn’t fit into your lifestyle.
The Freedom to indulge in pornography to satisfy your inner lust.
The Liberty to commit adultry to satisfy your outer lust.
The Freedom to kill, without restraint, and call it ‘collateral damage’.
The Liberty to make pre-emptive attacks on smaller, weaker nations.
The Freedom to accept homosexuality as an alternative lifestyle.
The Liberty to get into politics and steal with impunity.
The Freedom to stand in the ‘bully pulpit’ and bald-face lie to the people without repercussion.
The Liberty to put the Almighty Dollar on a pedestal higher than God.
The Freedom to go about your daily business with ‘Big Brother’ watching your every move.
What in the world is wrong with those people??????
Without fail, every woman includes “going shopping†as one of their free-time activities.
I don’t think this depends on the country, Will. You should see the girls here - shopping is the only thing and that means clothes and cosmetics. I have a slight problem with people whose focus is primarily on those two things.
You guys are good. Wil, you and ProfMarcus are right on the money… pun intended…
Regards
- fc
Well, here’s one woman who doesn’t count “shopping” as an enjoyable free-time activity. Shopping requires either money or the willingness to endlessly increase indebtedness; my money is hilariously limited and I have more than enough debt already, thank you.
Not that I don’t shop — I do. I grocery shop. I buy new clothes when it’s necessary, and get necessary things for the household, too. And I’ll admit to being an Amazon.com addict — I do love books.
I suppose the fact that I rarely, if ever, watch television helps keep me from being a compulsive shopper. Advertising/propaganda has little effect if you’re not bombarded with it for hours each day. I resent being referred to by my government as a “consumer,” as if that’s my only worth as a citizen.
I have lived in Germany, and the Germans also shop. But at least when I lived there, the constant push to buy buy buy was at a much lower level than it is in the U.S. When I returned here after more than half a decade living there, I was stunned by the cacophony of consumerism that had overtaken my country. I’d go to the grocery store and end up wandering around dazed, there were so many things to buy, so many colors, so much noise. In surroundings like that, it’s easy to just grab things and drop them into the basket, needed or not.
In the whirl of wanting and buying, we forget the things that are really meaningful, you’re right. There’s far more to living a mindful life than shopping.
It’s important to remember that bringing democracy to Iraq was the second excuse for invading Iraq after the WMD excuse failed. The U.S. isn’t interested in real democracy in Iraq. A real democracy might challenge our control over their oil and the presence of U.S. military bases.
The Iraqi people know that we won’t accept a truly independent Iraqi government, and that’s why they are wary of our brand of democracy.