Review of "Affluenza"
Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss
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The salient point for me was that the range of prices of goods that we*
consider essentials in a middle-class society have become so wide that
we can buy a version ten times more expensive than another (still
useful) one. The trick for advertising agents, then, is to convince us
that we need the $5000 TV instead of the $300 TV.
The book is full of graphs of spending patterns that become a little
monotonous, but the message and the lesson is clear: we have become
trained that luxury items are necessary and should be purchased,
even if we can't afford it.
Enumerate some of the "essential" possessions of an Australian household:
TV
Computer
Cooking appliances
Stereo
Video
DVD Player
MP3 Player
Microwave
This is just eight items. Consider that a TV can cost $300 or
$5000. Consider that a stereo can cost $300 or $5000. Consider that one
can purchase all of these items for under $3000 or $30000. It is
easy to spend $30000 dollars on these items. That is serious money that
we can spend without being conscious of it.
The thesis of the book is that the purchase of the more expensive of
these items does not make us happy, but is the result of being addicted
to affluence.
These purchases do not even include the more expensive regular payments
we make for broadband internet, mobile phones, insurance, and utilities.
The book was a clarifying experience that has stayed in my concience quite a while after I read it.
I give it 4 memorability points out of 5, and 3 motivating points out of 5.
* By "we", I am referring to people who are living beyond their means
thanks to banks that have relaxed their responsible lending rules to
the extent that you are asked nearly every day to extend your credit
card balance, rather than finding it difficult to get a loan, like it
used to be if you didn't have a good job.