Greed, Glitz and Gluttony

[Donnachaidh]

http://counterpunch.org/naylor05272011.html

Although I can claim no kinship with McGill University Professor R. T. (Thomas) Naylor, whom I have never met, I am an admirer of his work as an economist, a historian, a criminologist, and a political journalist. Even though he tackles very weighty problems, Thomas Naylor skillfully manages to find the humor and the irony in the dark side of life. His latest book, Crass Struggle: Greed, Glitz, and Gluttony in a Wanna-Have World, is no exception to the rule.

Crass Struggle is about how the ultra-rich respond to the human condition, namely, separation, meaninglessness, powerlessness, and fear of death, as well as the devastating global social, economic, and environmental consequences of their behavior. For those in the top 1 percent of the world’s population who own 50 percent of the world’s wealth, life is all about having – owning, possessing, manipulating and controlling money, power, people, and things – very expensive things such as precious metals, gemstones, diamonds, art objects, historical artifacts, rare coins, fine wines, Cuban cigars, scarce fish, exotic birds, wild animals, and elephant tusks.

To cope with meaninglessness and fear of death many of the super-rich spend their entire lives pretending they are invincible. One of the ways in which they try to convince themselves that they will live forever is through conspicuous consumption. They think they can spend their way into a state of never-ending self-actualization without paying any psychological dues for a life of unrestrained pleasure. They live by the slogan, “I’ve got mine, Jack, and the rest of the world be damned.”

And damned it is, the world which supplies the super-affluent with their expensive toys, playthings, food, and drink. Naylor describes it as “the low side of the high life, the bad side of the good life, or, more poetically, the underbelly of the potbelly.” It’s all about the dark underworld which supports the world’s fat cats through debauchery, deceit, bribery, smuggling, fakery, forgery, tax evasion, and virtually every other known form of human criminal activity.

More at the link --

[rfranklin]

1. Just watch the bloated collectors at a Barret Jackson automobile auction...

It's like a case study in conspicuous consumption.

[Buns_of_Fire]

2. They're scared shitless, is what it boils down to. That's them.

You are never so free as when you have nothing left to lose. That's everyone else.

Hence the need for gated McMansions. People like me scare the crap outta them.

Good.:evilgrin:

[damntexdem]

3. The real 3-G network.

;-)