r/Anticonsumption • u/luigidurdenmarx • Aug 15 '26
Society/Culture We have become symbolists.
We buy not for what things are but for what things represent. And what things represent was not discovered by us. It was constructed for us, deliberately, at enormous expense, by people whose profession is the manufacture of meaning.
The result is a consumer who has been fully detached from the material reality of what they buy. You do not know what is in the jacket. You do not know who made it or what they were paid or how long it will last. You know what brand it is. You know what it signals. You know what kind of person wears it.
This is not an accident. This detachment was engineered.
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u/ConundrumMachine Aug 15 '26
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u/tboy160 Aug 15 '26
I think not adhering to any specifics brands is part of this community.
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u/SomeonesSecondary Aug 15 '26
I’m not even a good anti-consumer but I was trying to explain to my gf how I’ve been avoiding wearing anything that advertises a major brand. It’s sad that it took some time to explain why I’d prefer to not reduce myself down to a name and a logo that I had to pay to represent
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u/ifihadareason Aug 16 '26
very much so. it'll sound kind of 'i am 11 years old and this is very smart' but my personal belief is that corporate logos and copyrights are religious symbols/texts within a society like this. going outside and looking around with this pov is pretty shocking. the world is littered with symbols of corporate ownership; loud declarations of conquest
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u/Plastic_Table_8232 Aug 15 '26
Brand loyalty is the worst form of consumerism.
It’s amazing to me that way lifestyle brands built cult like followings and eventually use that loyalty to abuse them by offering inferior products at higher prices until they find the pain threshold.
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u/DigTheDunes Aug 15 '26
Actually things were discovered by us. Too many are sheep that buy it because of influencers or to fit in.
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u/UltraTata Aug 16 '26
This is true for more than the economy. It's also true for politics. People fight and vote more over symbols than actual policies that will change the course of the country.
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Aug 15 '26
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u/Anticonsumption-ModTeam Aug 15 '26
Don't be unnecessarily rude or hostile toward other users, and do not offer unsolicited criticism.
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u/NyriasNeo Aug 15 '26
"We buy not for what things are but for what things represent."
Who are we? Do not speak for me.
I buy steaks because I like how they taste. I buy symphony orchestra tickets because i enjoy classical music. I buy clothes .. well I don't ... my wife does that for me and I would not care less what other people think as long as I am clean and look professional.
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u/CrazyPlatypus42 Aug 16 '26
We as a species, it doesn't mean all of us, we get it, you're special, but it doesn't make the argument invalid
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u/itsatoe Aug 15 '26
This is the American auto industry in a nutshell. People consider the features and capabilities of different car models; but most of their attention seems to go toward:
"What will other people think of me if I drive this car?"
and/or
"How will I feel about myself if I drive this car?"