About ten years ago I wrote an essay in which I posited that modern consumer culture (and by extension, society at large) was dictated by five maxims:
The Best Of
Everything
All The Time
For ME
Right Now!
A decade later, these ideas have not only maintained their stronghold over the public, but have become increasingly important in corporate strategy. To decry them would be to cast aspersion on the notion of convenience itself, but they’ve nurtured several problematic tendencies of the human spirit that ought to be brought to light. Among these are a massively deteriorated wellspring of creativity, a pervasive laziness, and perhaps most harmful, a dangerously burgeoning sense of collective entitlement.
To cover them all within one article would make for an incredibly dense read, so each portion will be covered separately. Here’s a cursory look at what each post will cover:
The Best Of: The Almighty Brand & Planned Obsolescence
Everything– Cramming It All Into One Package
All The Time– Nonstop Service
For ME– The Individual Needs Still Outnumber Those Of The Many
Right Now!– Life On Demand
There’s no set timeline for each article, but hopefully there will be at least one per month. They need to be made as conveniently digestible as possible. 😉
