Thoughts on Consumerism

The other day I had a friend present me the question, “what are my thoughts about consumerism and how has it affected my life?”

Initially, I approached it from a very biological viewpoint based upon it’s definition taken from Merriam-Webster which reads:

For me consumerism is a natural response due to the drive to have an over abundance of resources for that “nuclear winter” that is destined to strike us. In The Theory of Island Biogeography by MacArthur & Wilson, these two biologists outline a mechanism of reproductive strategy known as -r/-K Selection Theory, which states that selective pressures help drive evolution into one of two directions (either -r or -K). The terms -r and -K come from the Velhurst Model of Population Dynamics which can be seen here:

The -r strategy is a biological adaptation to excessive resources. In other words when you’re not going to run out of food, then you want to have as many offspring as possible. It typically emphasizes “quality over quantity.” You can think of a frogs fertilizing thousands of eggs with the hope that at least 5% them will be able to reach sexual maturity and reproduce. Another example is sea turtles – they typically will lay their eggs on the beach and “cross-fingers” 5% of them will be able to dodge the sea gulls on their way to the shoreline in a sprint to the starting line. This strategy tends to be centralized towards prey species such as rabbits and mice.

The -K strategy is a biological adaptation to scarce resources. You see when there is a lack of abundance of resources, you need to really work to hunt, gather, store, and catch them. It emphasizes the need for “quality over quantity.” These tend to be predatory species that are both larger and for complex such as lions and wolves.

Now there are 5 main traits that are generally shared between these two strategies:

1. Competition
2. Relationship Dynamic
3. Levels of Investment
4. Sexual Maturity & Activity
5. Loyalty

In teasing apart -r selected organisms, they typically are seen to have a great aversion to competition. Why is this? Well if resources are everywhere, if say a rabbit runs out of food in one field, it can move onto another knowing it will easily find some more food elsewhere. This in turn creates rampant levels of promiscuity as resources are in abundance leading to low levels of investment in their offspring (due to single parenting). Without proper parental guidance, this causes increased levels of sexual maturity at a very early age which typically is correlated with decreased brain size and functioning. This causes low loyalty to in-group preferences, essentially leading to the idea of “every man for themselves” when under attack by predators. Think about the lion and the gazelle. If a lion captures one of them, you typically don’t see the rest of the pack running over to give it aide (unless we are watching a Disney movie).

With -K selected organisms, there is an embracing of competition where organisms will fight to see who is best. As far as relationship dynamics are concerned, there is a delay in monogamous sexuality as they will monopolize the highest quality mates as much as possible leading to increased levels of pair-bonding. As a result you tend to see more highly invested, dual parenting scenarios with respect towards raising children with late sexual maturity levels. In order for this to happen, these organisms need to be protected and typically will form packs with high in-group loyalty which will work together to protect and defend one another.

In relating this idea to consumerism and society, a highly consumeristic person, based upon the traits I mentioned, will fall under the category of -r selection. Now there are numerous factors that can lead an organism to this fate like the likelihood of early death, randomized environment, and lowered population density.

In a safe environment, organisms will typically have lower fertility rates with higher life expectancies and investments of long term benefits such as education. If we examine socio-economic development with demographic transition over time, there is a drive to improve an individuals quality of life which in the past caused some individuals to transition from -r to -K selection strategies.

To answer the question on where I stand with consumerism, I fall under the -K selected strategical theory which is a direct result of my early childhood experiences. I grew up in a household with two parents who are pair-bonded for life providing support from early childhood into adulthood. Growing up I did not have worries about where my next meal was going to be and my environment was generally stable. Going to private elementary, middle, and high school – I was well educated and as I’ve stated in a previous post obtained a graduated degree in biological sciences.

For this reason, things that typically fall under physiological and security/safety needs as outlined by Maslow have never been a concern. In fact in 2012 during my freshman year of college, New York (where I am originally from) was hit with Hurricane Sandy. This caused great damage to the surrounding areas as we weren’t equipped to handle such a natural disaster so I volunteered my time during relief efforts after the storm. I even went so far as to give away I’d estimate 90-95% of my possessions to friends and family that were in need. The things we take for granted like a bed, clothing, and food became meaningless to me as I had more than enough to give and still survive.

The need to accumulate resources or buy the latests products has never appealed to me as they are not a supply for happiness within me. I find that too many people run steadily on the hedonic treadmill of life only slowing down to adjust the speed to go faster. Not me…I am not one for the latest fashions or trends. I find having an excess of anything to be quite draining as well.

It harkens back to the scene from the movie Fight Club where Tyler Durden proselytized, “The things you own, end up owning you.” Prior to college, I had been mindlessly living a lie that I needed to horde as much resources possible realizing that this was just a hidden source of anxiety within me.

While I do own something like a house today, I recognize that it is as much as a liability to me as it is an asset. Most people view the things they own soley as assets. They look into their closet or their living room and see valuable products that boost their self-worth. The flaw with this way of thinking is that things rarely give us the kind of satisfaction we think they will.

In my day-to-day life, I know I can survive on very little. I typically eat pretty healthy, but I do not go crazy having to eat this or having to eat that. Of course this means I have preferences, but it doesn’t mean I am by any means picky. I have enough food to live, but not enough of it to spoil if that makes sense. Regarding clothes, I do have to keep a certain dress code at work which requires me to dress business casual. However, when I get home and go out, I dress for comfort and not appearance.

I do have a thing for high end cologne, however, I am fine without needing them. I understand that they are luxuries that I have the money to pay for currently, but I can live without them if my finances prohibit it in the future. Aside from that, the only other times I spend money are mainly for investments in my house which I typically like to go with the best products that last long. In this way I not only focus on the aesthetics of a certain resource, but also it’s ability to last throughout time in order to receive as much of a return on investment as possible.

This type of strategical thinking I do dictates the majority of purchases I do. I will not spend over my means, but I am willing to spend a great deal amount of money for things that I am certain will improve my quality of life while also lasting a long time. For example: I recently purchased kitchen cabinets. Now I could’ve gotten compressed cabinets with a laminate countertop and be all set. However, I decided to go with real wooden cabinets and a granite countertop which essentially doubled the price. The thing is with the ladder option, I am decreasing the chances of damage overtime with better quality products despite paying a greater upfront cost. I find purchasing products like this very different from say clothing.

The main function of clothing is to protect the body from the outside elements and on a cultural level (at least here in America) to dress appropriately in public. This means that the difference between say a 100% cotton polo shirt costing $30 from store “X” is essentially the same as buying the same type of shirt costing $100 from store “Y.” In this way, I care much more about the product’s reliability rather than the name of the company that produced it.

Overtime what I found is that I slowly began to release my desires for more, and continuously try to be conscious of what I purchase. This may mean holding myself off from purchasing a product that isn’t absolutely necessary in an attempt to analyze whether or not the set product is something I want to have as opposed to needing to have. This does not mean that I am perfect or that I do not sometimes succumb to life’s pleasures, but I make a conscious effort to try…