For those of you who have an adverse reaction to clicking on the “Comments” links, I wanted to quote a little bit of the exchange that I’ve been having with “Deri” (not Gerry’s real name…. oops) on my “The Greatest Show I’ve Ever Seen” post.
Deri said:
Since Bono is an anti-poverty campaigner, why does he get people to part with lots of dollars to watch U2 perform? Isn’t it ironic that his success depends in part upon the consumerist system of the west? How many truly useful gifts from the TEAR christmas catalogue could have been bought if all attendees at the concert didn’t go but spent their ticket money on those instead?Geoff said:
Gerry (Deri, Merry, whatever you would like to be called
) your comment is fair to a degree, but I do wonder how many occupations in today’s society fail the test of having their “success depend in part upon the consumerist system of the west”.
The man was a rock star well before he was a poverty advocate, and has since found a way to utilize the currency of celebrity to make a difference (and make no mistake – it is making a difference)
Deri said:
So if even only say 50% of us have occupations that depend on the consumer system, then we may be trapped, (because if the system is altered then 50% maybe unemployed and that would impact the remainder of us). The personal cost may too high to radically alter the system, e.g. without a thriving economy we could not afford to reach the MDG aid budget targets, and our own internal needs may be too costly e.g. supporting the unemployed. Maybe we should try to make the system as just as possible without collapsing it. To get a vision of a non-consumerist society just go to the Pacific – minimal choice of goods (not necesarily bad), absolute dependence on susbsistence agriculture (good if you have a good climate and soil (some Pacific countries) bad if you have dry climate and poor soils (many African countries), minimal IT (you’re out of a job Geoff), average annual income $800, etc.
and because I didn’t have anything else intelligent to say, the conversation stopped right there. But it’s been mulling around my head, and I’m desperate to hear from the people who have the answers (or perhaps even just some ideas), about what the ultimate goal of transforming our society really is. Is a non-consumeristic society doomed to turn everywhere without great land and wonderful nutrient filled soil into a wasteland?
And to what extent can someone like myself, whose occupation depends on the very consumeristic mentality for survival; putting me in a basket with easily half of Australia; actually do something about the rampant consumerism. Will anything I do only be window dressing unless I’m willing to throw away career and lifestyle to become a social justice advocate?
If it was earlier in the evening I’d post more thoughts, and I might re-visit this, but I’m very very keen to get some feedback on how you rectify that imbalance in thought and action. And whether or not it’s possible to support breaking up the system that’s holding it all together.