American Addict

Way back in 1927, when clothes still lasted for decades and having 3 cars was odd, Paul Mazur, a banker at Lehman Brothers (RIP), wrote "We must shift America from a needs to a desires culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things even before the old had been entirely consumed. We must shape a new mentality in America. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."

We’re tricked into buying far more than we need. And it’s destroying us. Our dopamine pathways are burnt out from the constant hit of soulless purchases. Our oceans, beaches, and landfills harbor the unwanted junk this culture of consumption leaves behind. And we tackle each other the day after Thanksgiving.

 Consider…

• the week-old, unsold clothes from Zara/H&M/Shein that are replaced as fast fashion fuels lightning-quick trend changes

• the new model-year of a car that is scarcely distinguishable from its predecessor

• the average new home tripling in square footage since 1950 (while the avg number of occupants has decreased)

Why doesn’t it stop? It seems that we don’t appreciate our new possessions. We adapt to them. The new quickly becomes the old, so we look again for the new.

I won't sit here and repeat the age-old "be happy with what you have" mantra. Rather, I'll remind you to USE what you have before you replace it. Remember that one often does the job of two.

As renowned stoic philosopher Epictetus said, “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

Anyway, that’s all for now.

-John

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