On poor us

I’ll start by acknowledging that I’ve recently finished reading the book ‘Affluenza’ by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss and so I’m not even trying to pass off any of these ideas as things I’ve discovered myself. One aspect of the book I found particularly interesting is not so much the “outing” of our obsession with ourselves and with money, but rather the way we see ourselves as deprived.

I wasn’t raised in a wealthy family (or in a rich country, for that matter). When my family moved to Australia (and my mum still describes it this way), it was like entering paradise. There was no immediate threat of death from warfare, no real struggle to put food on the table or pay the rent, nothing but encouragement to pursue our education, and besides readjusting to a new culture, a new language, and missing friends and relatives, there basically was nothing to complain about. My family was one of the very lucky ones where a large proportion of our family immigrated to Australia also, so in fact after the first year or so there were few of us to miss. We soon learnt the language (we were actively taught it!) and we made new friends. To describe some aspects of our lives in Australia to people back in El Salvador for them is incomprehensible. Things like, for example, free (and high-standard) basic healthcare, housing assistance, and government co-payments for students, disabled persons, the unemployed, single parents, etc. We are fortunate amongst our family and amongst other peoples born in third world countries; and not just my family, but Australians amongst the world’s citizens are so extremely fortunate.

What’s my point? Well, the truth is that if you ask most people in affluent countries like Australia if they are content with their financial situation, the things they have, their jobs, their houses -their lives- they’ll say no!.... But wait, aren’t we so wealthy and well-off and living in ‘the lucky country’? Yes, but that’s other people, not us. We have bills we struggle to pay, things we wish we could own but can’t afford, thankless jobs that consume all our time and energy, and family and friends we have lost touch with. Collectively we are the lucky people in the lucky country, but as individuals we feel deprived. Feeling deprived and being deprived are two different things, though. The reality of it is that if you look at the pure facts, the numbers, the truth of it is the vast majority of Australians are not homeless, are not going without food, are employed, are managing to pay their bills, and most households own at least one car. You can look around you and immediately you know this is not a third world country. That is the reality of it!

What is it that we are deprived of then? We are deprived of satisfaction! And you know what the most intriguing reason of why we are so dissatisfied is? Because if we weren’t dissatisfied, then why would we keep working jobs we don’t like, for the long hours that hurt us in so many ways, just to buy the things we don’t really need? The question then becomes, well, then who is it that is keeping us dissatisfied, who makes us believe we are struggling, that we are a deprived people? In short, industry and government.

The advertising industry , the entertainment industry, the manufacturing industry, the pharmaceutical industry, etc, are all trying to sell us things. To sell us any product, you first have to convince the consumer that they are better off with it than without it. Even if there is nothing wrong with you, you could still be better off. Never mind you already having a functional car, a comfortable house, and practical clothes; no, that’s not good enough. They want us to believe that what we should have is a bigger more luxurious house, a luxury car, and the newest clothes of this season. Why? “Because you’re worth it.” There’s another thing that has been marketed heavily by industry: our deity. We deserve everything, just like the celebrities have. When you see yourself as being unable to afford the newest and most expensive of everything, of course you’ll feel deprived! And that’s good news for industry because then you’ll keep slaving away at your job to buy more and more of these things, which only keep getting more and more and newer and newer. Of course, if it all gets too much, then it’s time to make the poor pharmaceutical industry some money and invest in their pills that cure the human soul.

A people who are deprived is a woeful thing; thank God for politicians who can make it all better for us! That’s right, the other group of people interested in perpetuating the myth that we are all struggling are our governments. The benefit to them is that if we believe ourselves to be struggling and they promise to provide for ‘the battlers’, then they can secure our votes. I can’t recall a politician stating as his election plea that he will ensure that wealthy people can afford to buy a newer luxury car. He would be scorned! Instead we would rather vote for the guy who wants to help poor folks like us (who are “poor” only in the sense that our lives aren’t like those on those fictional films or because we don’t own the things that celebrities seem to).

We are sold the idea of deprivation from various levels and multiple interested parties. They sell it so well that we are unwilling then to recognize what is so clearly around us. I wish there were interested parties who thrived instead in helping us see truth, building up our self-worth and self-esteem, someone that would remind us that we are poor only when we rely on material things to define ourselves. I once read about a different sort of dissatisfaction, one I would like now to share: