Wish I'd understood the hedonic treadmill as a kid instead of in my 30s after a decade plus on a path that I couldn't even appreciate. It's an easy lesson to demonstrate to kids. Imagine if we did that?
Good description of how we conflate capitalism with the mirror of consumerism and end up damning them both. It's the perpetual paradox where we champion free markets but reject the social changes they bring--in this case, what it allows us to do to ourselves. Conversely, we champion social changes but resent the market dynamics that enable them.
Capitalism is a beautiful construct in a healthy society but will always look perverse in an unhealthy one. Ye olde weapon/tool duality. I wrote a vision/manifesto for a healthy society related to this that you guys may find useful.
Really appreciate your insightful comment Jonny and glad you enjoyed this essay! I also would've loved to learn about the hedonic treadmill way earlier on in life haha.
And I agree about that weapon/tool duality; it's why I love one of our recent Black Sheep essays on seeking a "middle way" perspective that can account for both the negative and positive of something rather than insisting something like capitalism is all bad or good with no implications even to consider (https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/centered-not-centrist-the-middle).
I love a good (constructive) manifesto! Comment back with a link so anyone else interested can check it out too!
That was really worth reading and I agree definitely and it's just definition to see if someone understands no one listens but you don't know to all the good points you made a very good defense for them but I know some great people and always having video games rich people who are poor because and if I have love I will never perish if I learned to be loving and share it and will Eternal Bonds make. -Harold Ewing myself
Another: no wonder I was trying not to say I thought "I have bug collection however I cannot be a bug collection." ( ontological catagorisation model) ipso facto, why bother being if all you can do is have?
I think my only issue with this is the surrending to capitalism and by extension the systems of oppression that disenfranchise the globes most vulnerable. we're certainly responsible for our own circumstances but at what cost. who's cost.
I don't agree that capitalism is a system of oppression that disenfranchise the most vulnerable; most historical evidence shows that centrally planned economies and feudalism created more vulnerability. The most vulnerable often are such because they lack the economic freedom capitalism provides, so they're dependent on the state or corrupt leaders instead of being able to control their own lives by supporting themselves.
The irreconcilable flaw with all known alternatives to capitalism is that those alternatives seek to force productive people to support unproductive people involuntarily, and unproductive people given unlimited support tend to remain unproductive and a drain on productive people. Eventually the unproductive become a large enough burden to collapse the system, or the productive rebel against being forced to do something against their will and collapse the system.
I love your take on consumption, it seems very in line with the Objectivist view of ego as a useful tool for obtaining our goals and living up to our values. Co-founder Jake Klein and I are careful about not demonizing ego entirely, as we see it as also necessary for doing good things.
It's difficult to get everyone on the same page about what words mean what when discussing more spiritual concepts like this or even just how we make sense of and relate to our own consciousness, but it seems to me most people agree on the need to examine our desires and use awareness and that inquisitive lens you described to make sure we're acting in accordance with our ideals versus being driven by lesser impulses, whether that's lower self or in the Freudian vocab, the "Id" that merely presents base and often vague desires.
I think the practice of seeking clarity that you're describing is key!
Somehow I'm having issues responding to your comment and now it's showing up as deleted...but luckily I had it open on another tab so I'm reposting it here so people can enjoy it like I did:
"The act of consumption is defined by the application of some resource toward a goal. Sans a goal, there wouldn't be any consumption – only matter changing forms. Having a clear goal means having some values which can either be attained or frustrated. And values can't be separated from our integration with the physical world. If human beings were disembodied ghosts we would have no cause to prefer one state of affairs over another. (This is true even if your values happen to be rotten ones.)
It is certainly possible to act without clearly grasping the values which make our consumption meaningful or meaningless - i.e., to fake value-attainment by expending resources in a way that doesn't lead to a purposed outcome. I recently bought a new baby grand piano. I would very much care if it had lousy tone or the damper pedal didn't work right. So I have a more exacting set of specifications than say, a rich guy who doesn't play it and just wants a shiny showpiece in his living room. My standards in this area are related to my life goals and aesthetic preferences developed over thousands of hours of practice and study. The more explicit and integrated your values, the better consumer you become. I think I would call that becoming more spiritual. (Please don't ask about my $500 espresso machine.)
I don't believe in ego in the sense of a 'lower self'; rather, it's possible to have a lack of clarity about the nature of your mind, experience, and relationship to the world around you. If that is the case, the only inner voice worth listening to is the inquisitive one. The soft asceticism of relinquishing identification with your possessions and actions is not the right approach here. Instead, lean into your identification with these aspects of your existence and ask why they have a place in your life. This is *my* piano that *I* bought because the bright timbre makes the bass in Chopin's Ballade in g minor stand out against the treble, which emulates the sensation of an active mind's most expansive and sublime engagement with the world. Also it was discounted." - Original comment by Benjamin Stringer, author of Black Sheep essay: https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/the-unfriend-me-pledge?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Our conception of ego seems to be the source of some mild consternation. I find it most helpful to think of ego as limited in perception and wisdom rather than as a lower self that's separate from the whole or as "bad". It's the limited perception and resulting lack of wisdom that's the root of the issues with ego, not some inherent evil. There are reams to be written about this. More to come.
Wish I'd understood the hedonic treadmill as a kid instead of in my 30s after a decade plus on a path that I couldn't even appreciate. It's an easy lesson to demonstrate to kids. Imagine if we did that?
Good description of how we conflate capitalism with the mirror of consumerism and end up damning them both. It's the perpetual paradox where we champion free markets but reject the social changes they bring--in this case, what it allows us to do to ourselves. Conversely, we champion social changes but resent the market dynamics that enable them.
Capitalism is a beautiful construct in a healthy society but will always look perverse in an unhealthy one. Ye olde weapon/tool duality. I wrote a vision/manifesto for a healthy society related to this that you guys may find useful.
Nice read, thanks!
Really appreciate your insightful comment Jonny and glad you enjoyed this essay! I also would've loved to learn about the hedonic treadmill way earlier on in life haha.
And I agree about that weapon/tool duality; it's why I love one of our recent Black Sheep essays on seeking a "middle way" perspective that can account for both the negative and positive of something rather than insisting something like capitalism is all bad or good with no implications even to consider (https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/centered-not-centrist-the-middle).
I love a good (constructive) manifesto! Comment back with a link so anyone else interested can check it out too!
Oohh, gonna read it now. And thanks!
https://jonnyabates.substack.com/p/restoring-american-health-and-our
Looking forward to reading this!
Ego and God are only one letter different. No wonder they can often be difficult to tell apart.
This is a brilliant little mnemonic, thanks! I'll be using this, and giving credit to Mr. Seagull.
Thank you 😊
Haha, that's a good way to remember to check yourself!
Thank you 😊
That was really worth reading and I agree definitely and it's just definition to see if someone understands no one listens but you don't know to all the good points you made a very good defense for them but I know some great people and always having video games rich people who are poor because and if I have love I will never perish if I learned to be loving and share it and will Eternal Bonds make. -Harold Ewing myself
Another: no wonder I was trying not to say I thought "I have bug collection however I cannot be a bug collection." ( ontological catagorisation model) ipso facto, why bother being if all you can do is have?
I think my only issue with this is the surrending to capitalism and by extension the systems of oppression that disenfranchise the globes most vulnerable. we're certainly responsible for our own circumstances but at what cost. who's cost.
I don't agree that capitalism is a system of oppression that disenfranchise the most vulnerable; most historical evidence shows that centrally planned economies and feudalism created more vulnerability. The most vulnerable often are such because they lack the economic freedom capitalism provides, so they're dependent on the state or corrupt leaders instead of being able to control their own lives by supporting themselves.
The irreconcilable flaw with all known alternatives to capitalism is that those alternatives seek to force productive people to support unproductive people involuntarily, and unproductive people given unlimited support tend to remain unproductive and a drain on productive people. Eventually the unproductive become a large enough burden to collapse the system, or the productive rebel against being forced to do something against their will and collapse the system.
I love your take on consumption, it seems very in line with the Objectivist view of ego as a useful tool for obtaining our goals and living up to our values. Co-founder Jake Klein and I are careful about not demonizing ego entirely, as we see it as also necessary for doing good things.
It's difficult to get everyone on the same page about what words mean what when discussing more spiritual concepts like this or even just how we make sense of and relate to our own consciousness, but it seems to me most people agree on the need to examine our desires and use awareness and that inquisitive lens you described to make sure we're acting in accordance with our ideals versus being driven by lesser impulses, whether that's lower self or in the Freudian vocab, the "Id" that merely presents base and often vague desires.
I think the practice of seeking clarity that you're describing is key!
Somehow I'm having issues responding to your comment and now it's showing up as deleted...but luckily I had it open on another tab so I'm reposting it here so people can enjoy it like I did:
"The act of consumption is defined by the application of some resource toward a goal. Sans a goal, there wouldn't be any consumption – only matter changing forms. Having a clear goal means having some values which can either be attained or frustrated. And values can't be separated from our integration with the physical world. If human beings were disembodied ghosts we would have no cause to prefer one state of affairs over another. (This is true even if your values happen to be rotten ones.)
It is certainly possible to act without clearly grasping the values which make our consumption meaningful or meaningless - i.e., to fake value-attainment by expending resources in a way that doesn't lead to a purposed outcome. I recently bought a new baby grand piano. I would very much care if it had lousy tone or the damper pedal didn't work right. So I have a more exacting set of specifications than say, a rich guy who doesn't play it and just wants a shiny showpiece in his living room. My standards in this area are related to my life goals and aesthetic preferences developed over thousands of hours of practice and study. The more explicit and integrated your values, the better consumer you become. I think I would call that becoming more spiritual. (Please don't ask about my $500 espresso machine.)
I don't believe in ego in the sense of a 'lower self'; rather, it's possible to have a lack of clarity about the nature of your mind, experience, and relationship to the world around you. If that is the case, the only inner voice worth listening to is the inquisitive one. The soft asceticism of relinquishing identification with your possessions and actions is not the right approach here. Instead, lean into your identification with these aspects of your existence and ask why they have a place in your life. This is *my* piano that *I* bought because the bright timbre makes the bass in Chopin's Ballade in g minor stand out against the treble, which emulates the sensation of an active mind's most expansive and sublime engagement with the world. Also it was discounted." - Original comment by Benjamin Stringer, author of Black Sheep essay: https://www.wetheblacksheep.com/p/the-unfriend-me-pledge?utm_source=profile&utm_medium=reader2
Our conception of ego seems to be the source of some mild consternation. I find it most helpful to think of ego as limited in perception and wisdom rather than as a lower self that's separate from the whole or as "bad". It's the limited perception and resulting lack of wisdom that's the root of the issues with ego, not some inherent evil. There are reams to be written about this. More to come.
Thank you for clarifying Mark! Ego as limited perception makes sense to me.