I should open by saying that I’m very hesitant to spend money. My own mother describes me as a “miser” in conversations with people outside our family. Saving is a far more natural action for me than spending.
Even so, living away from my family with a little more financial independence in the hyper-consumerist United States culture has certainly influenced my willingness to spend money on non-essentials. Even when I don’t buy things, I spend too much time imagining how my life would be if I did buy them.
I’ve decided I’ve had enough.
branding
My struggle against consumerism isn’t new, though my perspective has changed. This struggle began with the most visible sign of capitalist excess: brands.
I’ve long avoided wearing clothing with visible brand logos, and a couple years ago I made an effort to stop using brand names when unnecessary—for example, I could ask for a “cola” instead of a “Coke” or “Pepsi”. I covered up the logo of my old Surface Laptop with a sticker.
I reasoned that I was opposed to the idea of a “brand”—if nothing else, the term is named after a practice that does not bring along positive connotations.
As I continued this, though, I noticed that I wasn’t opposed to all brand logos. I didn’t cover up the logo of my Framework Laptop; I wear shirts with the logo of my university; I started developing projects with logos of their own. Eventually, I was learning the actual principles of branding and marketing in my classes.
I realized that I was only opposed to branding of companies or projects I didn’t like or share values with. So, really, the brand couldn’t be the root issue.
for people
After a lot of thought, aided by ideas in my class on “New Media and the Independent Voice”, I was realized my true concern: I want to use things made by people, for other people, not things made by companies for customers. I’m most passionate about projects where I can see a clear emphasis on making life better for people, not projects which value profit over people.
In an ideal world, I’d want everything I use and consume to be thoughtfully made by other people with my actual good in mind. Even more importantly, I want to be a person who makes projects which value and support other people. That philosophy drives my coding projects, my writing, my reading, the music I listen to, and even how I cook.
That’s what matters to me more than a “brand”; branding can be manipulative or greedy, but it can also act as a force of good to bring people together.
Make and interact with things as a person, not a customer or profiteer.
my current dilemma and solution
Now that I’ve worked out my actual philosophy in this area, it’s time to take steps to move closer to my goal. Despite not enjoying interacting with consumerist systems, I still frequently browse through reviews or products I could buy and sped time imagining my life with those products.
I’m more idealist than pragmatist, and the allure of a “perfect” setup is very appealing to me. This isn’t a problem in itself, but the result is that it leads to dissatisfaction with the present in favor of wishes for the future. I don’t want myself to keep striving for improvement, but I also don’t want to hinder my ability to enjoy the things and systems I have now.
So, with this in mind, I am now in the process of unsubscribing from every feed I follow which makes me want to buy things. Some of these are sources which fit my “by people, for people” philosophy, but they still give me a dissatisfaction with the things I have or alert me to things I could have which I’d never considered or wanted previously.
If I think of something that I want myself, I can still seek out those sources to help me narrow down my options. I have no problem with that. But I don’t want anything that I don’t specifically search for to make me want to buy things.
conclusion
We’ll see how this goes. I believe I have a firm ideological basis here, but it does remain to be seen whether the actions I resolve to because of it will be effective.
Your thoughts and ideas are very welcome.
