Consuming for a sense of control

[undergroundpanther]

Consuming as a Sense of Control
posted by Debb Thorne

In 1989, Fiske wrote the following in his article "Shopping for Pleasure: Malls, Power, and Resistance": "Ownership is at present the only form of control legitimized in our culture." Could it be that Americans are consuming because, in large part, they feel that they otherwise have no control in their lives? As I ponder this, I look out my apartment window at the mall parking lot. (Living in an apartment overlooking a mall is not my idea of a great location, but....) Every day since November 24, that lot has been chuck-a-block full of the cars of shoppers. Mornings, evenings, weekdays and weekends---full to overflowing.

I guess it would not surprise me in the least if people are there because so much else in their worlds feels out of their control. Jobs are here today and gone tomorrow; an illness or injury leaves families on the brink of bankruptcy; their debts are often so massive that they will never repay them, indeed, they will die making the minimum payment--and it feels like our political system is so far out of the reach of the average American that there is little anyone can do to fix any of these things.

http://www.creditslips.org/creditslips/2006/12/consuming_as_a_.html

[amitten]

1. This is very true. In New York after 9-11, I remember that

all the stores were just full for a couple of weeks.

No, people weren't out stocking up for disaster. They were buying nothing in particular. They were just out buying and buying for a sense of control. I know--I was one of them. Kept running to the drugstore for no apparent reason. Bought more lipgloss and other pointless items than I could possibly need...

[undergroundpanther]

2. And that fear of loss of control is

Where the market CONTROLS us. The feeling of control is not the same thing as being in control. And until people get more comfortable looking at risk and facing unknowns,and working it out, instead of fearing and buying shit to feel in control through denying the fact we are NOT in control, as long as we play make believe and feed the market beast we will never be free.