You might be surprised to know that I endorse
Buy Nothing Day, and even joined a Facebook group dedicated to spreading the message.
While I have a tendency to sneer at the sort of activism-lite* that soy latte drinking, Croc wearing would-be leftistas glom on to as just another sort of Brand Identity, I do think that Buy Nothing Day has a valuable and important message.
For me, Buy Nothing Day is as symbolic a gesture as you can get: I sometimes go for a day or three without buying anything. It's not that difficult. But North America is full of people who are lost in conspicuous consumerism. I know more than a few people who mistake stuff for happiness. When you are so bereft of serenity that you fill your empty life with consumer goods and your empty head with celebrity gossip, you have a problem, maybe even one so serious that it will ruin your life.
I like luxury as much as anybody, but happiness doesn't lie in the next thing that you covet, and plan to buy. Nor the thing after that, nor after that one, even.
The abysmal statistics on both personal savings and credit card debt, combined with what you can see on the street, in the stores, and in your neighbors homes paints a bleak picture for the financial hole that many, many people have dug themselves into. Those people are who this "holiday" is really for.
*raise your hand if you've ever forwarded one of those senseless "Bring the oil companies to their knees, let's all not fill up our cars on X date!" emails to everyone you know.
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by Joseph Heath, a thoughtful well measured look at Consumerism and Popular Culture.
