Plain hard work...

...is not the source to plenty.

I am beginning to wonder if the middle class work ethic isn't a sham quite like religion. Think about it. The new opiate of the masses is consumerism and television. Oh don't get me wrong. I want my Armani suits and jackets just like any other man. Even if I've counted myself out of the mating game. Lawyers, Investment Bankers, Traders - they ought to be all rich, right? Or that's what you figure. But why is it that almost every other banker/ lawyer you talk to feels dirt poor? Ah - that brings us to hedonistic adaptation. These poor hapless victims are looking at their clients and their lifestyles and compared to them these hapless hired guns are indeed poor. And they forget that the themselves are rich compared to the 99% of the population. Everybody they know is richer than them or as rich - so it doesn't count. Maybe they should consider slumming it sometimes ;-)

I think that a regular monthly paycheck - no matter hw big it is - is only a way towards acquiring a heavier mortgage, a bigger car loan, another vacation home etc. etc. The real luxury is the freedom to think. To be able to indulge your intellectual whims and follow them wherever they might lead. The rewards of success have to be large in any field where the odds are so long.
But that is another train of thought altogether.

I am wondering about basic human motivations which drive consumer purchases. If you are single, then most of the spending is towards acquiring ornamental feathers. Clothes, Grooming, Where you eat and what you eat, where you go on your nights out - all these are directed at attracting the best possible mate that you can get. I admit that this is not true for everyone. There are those who are driven by pure aesthetics - the very need to have those things for the mere sake of having them because "They look beautiful". I wonder which group deserves my sympathy. As for me - I was somewhere between these two. If pushed to come down on one side, I'd count myself as one of the aesthetes. But then again, these are the real consumerists. Who will consume throughout their lifetime and not stop after getting a mate.

As an aside, let us wonder why Indians slog at school and college. I think it is the arranged marriage that is responsible for most Indians choosing low-risk, steady-but-not-very-attractive-return professions like Law, Management or Engineering. Countries that have a shortage of engineers should actively consider adopting this wonderful system to encourage lower risk taking behavior by teenage boys. In case anyone is wondering, that was pure undiluted sarcasm.

But seriously, think about it. Indian parents are always encouraging their kids to do well in school. Why? So that they can get into a good college. All right. So then what? Oh that gets you a good job! Hmm...steady returns. Low risk. Probably you'll never hit big time, but hey - do you want to be one of those failed actors / directors/ musicians/ artists??? Who'd ever marry you!

I see that as arranged marriages become less popular in India, the creative jobs - the high risk jobs which aren't jobs at all but careers - will start becoming more popular. You can already see signs of it. RJs, Music Directors, DJs, Artists, Actors - I see more of them.

But to return to my original theme, consumerism is led by singles. What about families? They are led into it by either the need to create envy among their peers or the need to satiate their desires in order to not be overcome by jealousy. Again, this covers not everyone. There are a million other possible reasons - like men and women wanting to retain their partners and wanting to remain attractive to them. Nooo - don't tell me that the whole world is geared towards sex! Nope - correction. That means that you are missing the point. The whole world is geared towards reproduction!

ubergeek, the