More good words from Zygmunt Bauman:
Our actions are modified and constrained in different ways by our relation with technologies and the situations in which we find ourselves working.We are more dependent on the need to change in order ot keep apace with developments.
A need has now developed where previously it did not exist. These technological objects did not replace older ways of doing things, for they induced people to do things they did not do before. Technology does not necessarily appear as a responsse to our needs. The demand has been determinedby the technology. Technology is sold to us on the basis of providing more freedom by exercising more control over our lives.
People who want to sell their products must seek a distinction for their commodities by making the old products seem out of date, obsolete and inferior.
The message is that we are made up of the things we buy and own.
What is being sold is not simply the value of a prduct, but its symbolic significance as a building block within a particular lifestyle. What makes other lifestyles so temptingly close and within reach is
that they are not practiced in secrecy. They appear so seductively open
and inviting.
The consumer attitude is relentless in its desires. We can feel deprived. Our current lifestyle begins to lose its allurement and no longer brings us the satisfaction it once provided. At what point can we say, "We have arrived?" Are we condemned to remain forever in a state of deprivation? The sheer availability of ever new temptations and their apparent accessibility detract form any achievement. When the sky is the limit, no earthly destination seems pleasant enough to satisfy us.
It is us and us alone who can be blamed for where we stand. We are all self made persons.
(Thinking Sociologically, chapter 9)
These words are so important to me. In the world I live in, I am constantly confronted with new products, new technology, new fashions, new books, new movies, and the list goes on. I have to tame my desires or I can be guilty of "never arriving," meaning that I am never satisfied and always wanting more. What a horrible state to be in--never happy, never content, always wishing and wanting more. It sounds ungrateful and blind to me.
Now having said that about not wanting more, let me spend a minute expressing appreciation for a few things I have. What would I do without a washing machine, a heating system in the home, my laptop, a car that works? I have a phone that allows me to talk to and see grandchildren who all live out of state. There are so many blessings and pleasures in life.
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