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Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

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Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#121

Post by [deleted] »

goodpoint wrote: post #58
agumonkey wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In consumerist societies "pleasurable" is very much stretched, when your life is dull, you'll find spending money on whatever cool guy is trying to sell you. People with big pockets know all about your flaws, social behavior in the large, fads and followers, and they sure play with it like an orchestra conductor. unlike russian communism you're not forced to do anything but you're seduced out of your mind, I guess it…

> you're not forced to do anything You are forced to choose between working to pay rent and health insurance or go hungry, homeless and ill or in prison. In various developed societies there is free healthcare, social safety nets, or some forms of UBI or other help. > but you're seduced out of your mind, I guess it's fair Fair? Consumerism is threatening all ife on the planet. Humanity can do so much better.

[deleted]

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#122

Post by toiletfuneral »

grumblenum wrote: post #69
goodpoint wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> you're not forced to do anything You are forced to choose between working to pay rent and health insurance or go hungry, homeless and ill or in prison. In various developed societies there is free healthcare, social safety nets, or some forms of UBI or other help. > but you're seduced out of your mind, I guess it's fair Fair? Consumerism is threatening all ife on the planet. Humanity can do so much better.

A Malthusian crisis has been “imminent” since the 19th century. I think that you should try writing down what facts you think support the a priori assumption that our sinful ways are leading us to a future, sudden disaster. I don’t think you will find much evidence that isn’t traceable to popular opinion. Sorry, fam, it’s just Puritanism for the modern age.

I think the comparison of carbon footprints between the average westerner and the global south seems to indicate these issues aren’t about the raw number of people and absolutely to do with lifestyle.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#123

Post by nitwit005 »

captainmuon wrote: post #13
ilamont wrote: post #5

Western economies, particularly that of the United States, have been built in a very calculated manner on gratification, addiction, and unnecessary spending. Calculated, like in planned-economy, directive-from-the-top? I disagree. A lot of the "fluff," as the author describes it, is excess capital finding its way to things people find pleasurable, whether it be dope, travel, beauty, or rock and roll. Purveyors of suc…

Counterpoint: What do you think "fashion" is? I used to think there were some very cool, fashion-adept people, who have the ability to predict what will considered modern next year. The reality is, the clothing industry decides what to produce at least 6-12 months in advance. It's not like they produce everything and public opinion decides in the end what is "cool". Granted, the industry tries to predict what will be…

> The reality is, the clothing industry decides what to produce at least 6-12 months in advance.

And they guess wrong all the time. If they could actually control things, they wouldn't have so much unsold inventory.

They're making predictions based on heuristics, not magically controlling the masses.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#124

Post by MandieD »

NavinF wrote: post #109
notfromhere wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably an argument that a forty hour workweek makes that kind of unnecessary consumption possible. People with time and groceries would probably make dinner rather than go out

How is that consumption "unnecessary"? I bet 99% of the people here would not save money or time by working less hours and using that time to cook more often. Time spent cooking, cleaning pans, shopping and sorting/storing groceries etc can easily be >$100/day

As long as you’re not making elaborate new recipes all the time, but variations on the same several, shopping and cooking don’t take nearly that long. I cook three or four big meals a week, generating a lot of leftovers.

Since I’m in the habit of cooking and keep a well-stocked pantry, the time from “what’s for dinner?” to “time to eat!” is faster when I cook than if I order delivery.

Then again, I’ve cultivated a love of cooking and a like for grocery shopping, so neither feels like a chore. My husband appears to have cultivated a non-aversion to kitchen cleaning and a keen appreciation for lower-sodium meals, so win-win.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#125

Post by nitwit005 »

TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #80
ilamont wrote: post #5

Western economies, particularly that of the United States, have been built in a very calculated manner on gratification, addiction, and unnecessary spending. Calculated, like in planned-economy, directive-from-the-top? I disagree. A lot of the "fluff," as the author describes it, is excess capital finding its way to things people find pleasurable, whether it be dope, travel, beauty, or rock and roll. Purveyors of suc…

You may be being unrealistic about the role of spontaneous personal choice in this. To a surprising extent, people find things pleasurable because they're told to find them pleasurable. No one sane would inhale burning carcinogenic leaves to damage their own health, but people do - because they're encouraged to. People buy new phones because they're somehow "cool". No one is really sure why, but it's something that h…

> No one sane would inhale burning carcinogenic leaves to damage their own health, but people do - because they're encouraged to.

Smoking dates back to tribal society thousands of years back. People chose to do it without any corporate influence.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#126

Post by goodpoint »

goodpoint wrote: post #58
agumonkey wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In consumerist societies "pleasurable" is very much stretched, when your life is dull, you'll find spending money on whatever cool guy is trying to sell you. People with big pockets know all about your flaws, social behavior in the large, fads and followers, and they sure play with it like an orchestra conductor. unlike russian communism you're not forced to do anything but you're seduced out of your mind, I guess it…

> you're not forced to do anything You are forced to choose between working to pay rent and health insurance or go hungry, homeless and ill or in prison. In various developed societies there is free healthcare, social safety nets, or some forms of UBI or other help. > but you're seduced out of your mind, I guess it's fair Fair? Consumerism is threatening all ife on the planet. Humanity can do so much better.

There was a comment that is provably true and has been downvoted:

--

I think the comparison of carbon footprints between the average westerner and the global south seems to indicate these issues aren’t about the raw number of people and absolutely to do with lifestyle.

--

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#127

Post by weregiraffe »

DangitBobby wrote: post #91
RandomLensman wrote: post #72

"Unnecessary" is such an odd category: humans could live in caves, for example. Who determines what is necessary? Is art necessary? Music? Nice food? This seems often tangled in some odd moral/theological origin, i.e. possessions are frowned upon. I like to be shown new things to try, for example. So some advertising I actually like. Is my life planned by large corporations? From my work there I would say not, as mos…

The author seems to indicate that what makes something "unnecessary" in this context is when it very temporarily scratches an itch but does nothing to meaningfully improve your quality of life in the longterm. What would really improve your life is less money, fewer purchases, and more free time.

>meaningfully improve your quality of life in the longterm

In the longterm quality of life decreases until life is over. Quality of life after death is 0.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#128

Post by hermannj314 »

bulletsvshumans wrote: post #55
quesera wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's really not that simple. Fashion is an industry where hundreds of individual designers, some with the backing of megacorps and some without, try to meet popular interest (or to lead it), with production times measured in weeks to months, and with seasonal variation. There is no "fashion cabal" where designers get together for drinks and to anoint "cerulean blue" as the color of 2023 and then pull their customers…

> There is no "fashion cabal" where designers get together for drinks and to anoint "cerulean blue" as the color of 2023 and then pull their customers by the nose ring into purchasing. "Twice a year Pantone hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various nations' color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year." "OVER 20 YEA…

And, amazingly, in the year 2000, the color they chose was cerulean blue.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#129

Post by Retric »

nitwit005 wrote: post #123
captainmuon wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Counterpoint: What do you think "fashion" is? I used to think there were some very cool, fashion-adept people, who have the ability to predict what will considered modern next year. The reality is, the clothing industry decides what to produce at least 6-12 months in advance. It's not like they produce everything and public opinion decides in the end what is "cool". Granted, the industry tries to predict what will be…

> The reality is, the clothing industry decides what to produce at least 6-12 months in advance. And they guess wrong all the time. If they could actually control things, they wouldn't have so much unsold inventory. They're making predictions based on heuristics, not magically controlling the masses.

There is surprisingly little unsold inventory, outlets are selling cheaper versions of clothes not unsold inventory. Of course not every design or brand succeeds, but the industry as a whole is reasonably efficient.

Re: Your Lifestyle Has Already Been Designed (2010)

#130

Post by monocasa »

detaro wrote: post #61
bulletsvshumans wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no "fashion cabal" where designers get together for drinks and to anoint "cerulean blue" as the color of 2023 and then pull their customers by the nose ring into purchasing. "Twice a year Pantone hosts, in a European capital, a secret meeting of representatives from various nations' color standards groups. After two days of presentations and debate, they choose a color for the following year." "OVER 20 YEA…

Not that I'm paying much attention to these things, but I've not seen much to support that "ultimate grey" and "Illuminating" yellow are the dominating colors this year? ( https://www.pantone.com/color-of-the-year-2021 )

It takes a few cycles to hit if you're not on the forefront of fashion. But perhaps you can see how the colors from a few years back have come and gone even among fashion 'normies'?

https://www.pantone.com/articles/color-of-the-year/color-of-...

http://cdn.osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/macos-cat...

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