We live to shop

Yet again Jeremy's got me thinking. In The Rebel Sell, Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter argue that far from undermining consumerism, anti-consumers actually reinforce the consumerism they so despise—a rather unsettling message for someone who thought they sympathised with the countercultural message.

In This Magazine Heath and Potter attempt to answer the question: "If we all hate consumerism, how come we can't stop shopping?" In doing so they provide a summary of The Rebel Sell thesis:

…consumption is not about conformity, it's about distinction.

We can't stop shopping because, as Jeremy quotes from Hello, I'm Special, paradoxically: "Individuality is now the new conformity." Therein lies the problem:

As long as we continue to prize individuality, and as long as we express that individuality through what we own and where we live, we can expect to live in a consumerist society.

We express our individuality through the brands we buy. As Heath and Potter observe:

Brands don't bring us together, they set us apart.

One answer, according to Heath and Potter, is to disempower the "Brand bullies" by taxing excessive advertising. Another answer lies within ourselves.

Why is it that we feel it necessary to define ourselves through material possessions? Surely the way we act and the way we treat each other are richer expressions of who we are.

Like Barbie said, "You can never have too much stuff."