The majority of us in the western world are being driven to disconnect from one another. We are being manipulated to consume more and more in the pursuit of ‘happiness’. In the process, we are chipping away at the very fabric of our humanity, forgetting how to truly connect with each other, how to love and live wholeheartedly.
And for what? I believe we are subjects, serving a small minority who are laughing as they quaff on their billions, sat in ivory towers, controlling the puppet show, equally as insecure as the rest of us. If you think you aren’t a pawn in a big game of economic chess, I encourage you read on.
Yes, it’s happened. I have finally turned into a hippie! Let’s be honest, we all knew it was going to happen at some point on this trip, it was just a case of when! I’m a stone’s throw away from setting up a commune and finding a patch of land where I can grow my own food and meditate at will! I joke (sort of!), but I would like to share some insights I’ve had on my travels. Brace yourselves… I said this blog would be authentic. This is a snapshot of how I feel now and as we know, feelings are fluid but I’m pretty passionate about this one. I’m charting my journey in ‘real time’ so you can read and get a true representation of what I’m going through – the good, bad and ugly. So here goes…
Travelling through Canada and America were both amazing experiences for me. I saw some spectacular sights, areas of outstanding natural beauty and met some amazing people. But there was a darker side. I witnessed (and participated in) greed, waste and consumerism on a level I’ve never experienced before. Upon reflection, I feel a little sad.
Before I begin, here’s a couple of points to add context to the forthcoming rant. Firstly, for any economy to function, it relies on people spending money. Whilst I’m certainly no economist, I think it is fair to say that if everyone stopped buying things tomorrow (aside from the essentials, like food and shelter) the economy would be in crisis. Added to that, one way of growing an economy is getting people to spend more.
We want to feel accepted by the people around us, we want to belong.
Secondly, as humans, we crave connection with other humans. In fact, we need it. We are biochemically designed to connect with others, to be part of communities. We want to feel accepted by the people around us, we want to belong. On a subconscious level, anything that threatens these things in turn becomes a threat to our very existence.
So with that in mind, what’s the easiest and most effective way to get you to keep reaching for your wallet? Easy. That by doing so, somehow whatever you’re buying will fulfil a promise of connecting you with others “I’m part of the iPhone club”, a crude example. Fear based marketing is crafted to make you feel that by not buying things, you’ll be isolated, disconnected, cut off, rejected.
At a consumer level, corporate marketing teams make no attempts to disguise these techniques. Let’s look at anti-ageing creams. Here, marketeers paint pictures of people having wonderful lives, an amazing connection with their peers thanks to this awesome, ‘scientifically proven’ cream, and there’s usually a lude reference to sexual attractiveness (acceptance). Take a look at these examples. Boots store – women laughing together (connected) in a lovely white, clean space, all talking about how great their lives have become since they got the ‘serum’ and crucially, the reference (00:20s) about “getting second looks” (acceptance from potential partners).
Helen Mirren (hailed this week for defending sexist remarks when she was much younger) has disappointingly shot an ad for L’Oréal with the opening line “Ever feel invisible?” I mean, it’s blatant! In other words, “ever feel disconnected because you’re old?” Well if you didn’t she’s just planted the seed. Then at the end, a flirty glance towards a younger man. It’s so manipulative, playing to all older women’s insecurities.
Why do men buy underwear modelled by David Beckham? Because they are continually body-shamed. They are made to feel that their ‘average’ bodies aren’t attractive enough i.e. they’ll be isolated, sent to the ugly camp of human rejects. Whilst I’ll admit I did enjoy seeing Beckham run through streets semi-naked, the advert by H&M had the same, subliminal messages. Take a look. At 01:20s there’s it is – a bunch of women pull up in a bus and take pictures of him in his pants. In other words, “buy our underwear and people will find you attractive.” i.e. less chance of being rejected.
And breathe….
Consumer spending is driven by shaming. Companies either overtly shame you into feeling like you’re ‘not enough’ if you don’t have their latest product or paint an image that by having their product, you’ll be part of something with others (i.e. you’ll be more connected). Often the word ‘aspirational’ is used in marketing, but what are you aspiring for exactly? And more importantly, why?
Apple are all too often hailed as being the gods of marketing, with references to their ‘tribe’ and the ‘Apple club’. But surely this is just another way of saying “if you’re not part of the Apple club, you’re not good enough, you’re on the outside (disconnected).” Subliminal, manipulative messages in my opinion. And whilst we’re on Apple (cue rant) their contribution to the communities they exploit is questionable. Just take a look at the taxes they’ve dodged paying in Europe. What amazes me about this particular scandal, is how the US Government are now wading in with laced threats to the EU (who are seeking tax payments from Apple) by using the very messages I’ll reference in this write up.
Ok, so time for a caveat. There is nothing wrong with healthy ambition, wanting to do good for yourself and your family, if you have one. There’s also nothing wrong with wanting nice things. We all work hard. I’m not for a second suggesting you sell your assets, become hippies and go off-grid. But if every month you are comfortably able to cover your basic overheads and yet feel unable to find contentment, take a moment to think. Are you being played?
Ok, grab a coffee, take a pee – there’s more.
Let’s look at governments and world banks. On a government and economic management level I think things are a lot more covert, and much more sinister. The people leading the country are also part of this twisted game in some way – they share the same insecurities but they have more power. Their push is to continually increase the size of the economy they run because they’re trying to dodge the same things we are! I’m not sure I believe (at this stage anyway) that there is some big conspiracy behind all this. Those in positions of power who don’t share our insecurities are likely to be sociopaths and therefore lack the humanity part of their brain. (Many, many world leaders fit this profile). In fact, a huge percentage of billionaires are too – Google it.
So, how does a government make its people consume more? Marketing messages from corporates shame us into thinking we aren’t enough, but governments and those managing economies take a different tack. They push out messages that suggest unless we conform, our security (in other words, the things we believe make us ‘enough’) will be under threat. The Bank of England does this loud and proud, literally forcing money into our hands through interest rates – “Go spend people, here’s some extra cash!” They panic when we stop spending because it threatens the economy, which in turn threatens their position, and that’s just not ok.
How do they promote the message that more consumerism will lead to increased happiness (more connectedness)? Well, this is the oldest trick in the book, we call it smoke and mirrors in the business world. If you want to make something appear to have more value than it actually has, you surround it by hype and exclusivity. And things that are exclusive need high levels of protection, right? “We must defend our nation”. What they really mean is “We must continue to make you believe that consumerism is the only thing protecting you from complete disconnection and rejection – your biggest fears.” How often do governments speak of terrorism? Organised religion used to be the control mechanism, now it’s terrorism – but that’s a whole piece in itself!
Taking a look at David Cameron’s cover note on the Conservative manifesto. You can see it’s riddled with subliminal threats. “…How do we maintain our economic recovery, upon which our ambitions for our country depend?” Look at the language! “upon which our ambitions…depend!” It’s not even subliminal messaging! We depend on this economy… keep spending guys!
At one point a couple are getting down to it and ‘Mom’ helps take off the woman’s bra – what the f*ck?! I don’t know what’s worse, the sheer level of manipulation in this campaign or the fact that initial statistics suggest the campaign worked…
What else could they do to trigger us into shame or threaten (what we believe to be) our survival, so we keep spending? Continually talk about national security, declining economies, national debt? Sure. But what about social policy? How about this – set out a vision of how everyone should live their lives. Something like – go to school, then University, then get married, then have children (children are, after all, future economic contributors). Paint that vision so well that is shames anyone who doesn’t have those things into getting them – even if it’s not really meant for them. Take a look at Denmark for a disturbing example of this. They were experiencing low birth rates, so took to running an extensive advertising campaign encouraging (shaming) couples to have children “for mom”. Images of sad Moms without grandchildren. At one point a couple are getting down to it and ‘Mom’ helps take off the woman’s bra – what the f*ck?! I don’t know what’s worse, the sheer level of manipulation in this campaign or the fact that initial statistics suggest the campaign worked – birth rates are up! Just, wow.
I feel like I could talk (ok, rant!) about this for hours but don’t worry, I won’t. I haven’t even gone into the sheer impact all this is having on the natural environment around us. Perhaps it is, however, worth mentioning that too much environmental consciousness doesn’t support economic growth. Sooner or later we’d (truly) acknowledge, with grave guilt, that the things we buy are manufactured somewhere, using finite natural resources. It’d only be a matter of time before our consciences slowed down our consumption.
What I hate the most, is that I’m part of all this. I’m sat here on my Apple MacBook, texting friends on my iPhone whilst listening to music through my Bose headphones.
I am well and truly conditioned to believe that material things matter, when I know on an intellectual level that’s b*llshit. I want to find a way out, or at least a middle ground. I feel like I’ve opened up a box and I cannot go back, though the forces back home will undoubtedly be strong. At this point on my journey, I want to declare “I’m out”. But I can’t, because I’ve yet to figure out a realistic alternative (and practically speaking, I’m in South America, so to get home involves a lot of Western conventions!)
So let’s wrap up (phew!)…
Looking at third world countries offers a polarised alterative. They have much stronger communities, they are arguably more connected with each other. Crucially, they seem more content with what they have. I wrote about this what I was in Vietnam.
Some of these countries desire economies like ours, seeing it as aspirational (there’s that word again!). I desperately want to tell them to be careful what they wish for. They may have less money, more poverty and more illness. But I think in the western world, we are the poorest emotionally. Our version of poverty is an ever-increasing distance from what we are meant to be – loving human beings, who connect with each other authentically and vulnerably, whose priority is caring for one another, not spending endlessly on things we don’t need.
And as for illness, I believe we are currently experiencing a pandemic that will ultimately fulfil our biggest fears of disconnection, rejection and isolation. It’s called ‘capitalism’.