Affluenza

I recently read a review of a book called “ Affluenza - When Too Much Is Never Enough” by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss, It is about the  insidious virus that is creeping through our society and how we are all sucked in, by marketing, the images we see every day around us, peer pressure etc.  We are all swayed by advertising and materialism.  I think it will probably be a good read and I am going to try and get hold of a copy from my library.

Here are a few bits from the review that I saw:

"Affluenza" is:

"1.The bloated, sluggish and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses. 2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the great British dream. 3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth."

Doesn’t that make you think?  It sounds very familiar; I think we may have been suffering a touch of Affluenza here which is why we want our new simpler lifestyle.

More stuff from the review:

* According to a recent Australian survey, (I did look but was unable to find an equivalent British survey. I am sure the results would be similar for most of the affluent western world though.) 93% of Australians see themselves as being in the middle-income bracket (i.e. the middle 60%) and only 0.7% class themselves as being in the top 20%!

* 62% of Australians believe they cannot afford to buy everything they need: that includes 46% of the richest 20% of households in Australia believing that they cannot afford to buy everything they need!

* Over 25% of the wealthiest households believe they spend nearly all of their money on the basic necessities. [Because clearly, a holiday house on the coast is a necessity ;-)]

* The size of the average house increased 31% between 1985 and 2000: so much extra room = lots of extra "stuff" needed to fill it!

* Manufacturers produce items like refrigerators and BBQ's at the ultra-premium end of the scale, not because they think they will sell many, but because it "escalates the level of desire on the part of ordinary consumers", such that instead of paying £300 for an adequate fridge, they will pay £1000 for one with marginally better performance, because they equate the higher price with higher quality and therefore it reflects a higher social status.

* The same goes for supermarkets: super-premium products have been introduced with the aim to stop consumers from buying the cheapest products and start buying the mid-priced products. [They didn't specifically mention it, but this is clearly the goal of Coles and Woolworths in phasing out their "Homebrand" items and introducing their own brand "premium" products.]

 This has happened in all British supermarkets. They all have their own version of a “Finest” range.

* We now own so much "stuff" that there are over 1000 self-storage centres in Australia and 75% of the clients are residential.

* Advertisers have become particularly adept at appealing to the heart whilst giving excuses for the head, in order to justify their purchases. [Hence the number of "North Shore Tractor" 4WDs owned in Australia.]

* Advertising aimed explicitly at children is no longer just for kids’ products, but adult products as well, as marketers have discovered the amount of influence children can have over big-ticket items like cars and holidays.

* In 1975 we saved 16.4% of our after-tax income. Today it's -3.2%, despite our incomes having doubled in real terms.

* Australians work the longest hours in the developed world: 1855 hours a year. Contrast this with 1835 in the US and OECD average of 1643 hours. We also have the second highest proportion of part-time employees, which actually drives down the average.

* As a result, time with the family has become more precious, at the expense of (usually free)community activities (like playing sport), and we are spending more and more on takeaway, DVD rental, home theatre systems etc.

* Of course the upshot of all of this excess consumption is waste. We spend an estimated $10.5 billion per year on goods we don't use - $1226 per household - despite 62% believing they don't have enough money for their basic needs!

* The US and Israel top the list of waste generation per person - 730kg each per year - and Australia comes fourth with 690kg per person per year. In comparison, New Zealand generates 400kg and Canada 350kg per person.

The book apparently finishes with a discussion of "downshifting" or “voluntary simplicity". It isn’t aimed at sustainability issues as such, but "Affluenza” seems to me to be another part of the whole issue of unsustainability. Our generation and our children need to wake up to it really fast.

Although the book is written by Australians and has an Australian bias I would imagine that the facts and figures will translate well for me.  I think maybe we all could do with reading this book.  You never know you may even be a sufferer without realising it and this book could be your cure. I’ll let you know when I manage to get hold of it and I’ll do my own review.