ANTHROP 2R03 Lecture Notes - Retail Therapy, Sildenafil, Methylphenidate
Document Summary
Dis arises out of a number of things: atomized * A social atom, isolated by one another. Clinging to idea of self-sufficiency and autonomy. No other time in history have people been so cut off from one another as they are now in industrialized society. Due to division of labour: actions tend to be oriented toward pragmatic ends, struggle to find meaning. Scientifically sophisticated society means people have lost a sense of the spiritual in general. Directly associated with an atomized, secularized society. Leads to increased materialism and consumption: concept of spending money for the purpose of self-actualization, consumption and personal identity quote ** Our enormously productive economy demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfactions, our ego satisfactions, in consumption. The measure of social status, of social acceptance, of prestige, is now to be found in our consumption patterns.