A couple of weeks ago I
was listening to a podcast and the people on the episode discussed a very
familiar concept. They were talking about how the fact that our government,
politicians and we ourselves see ourselves as consumers and how it has shaped us. I've
heard this line of thinking before. Most people who are left-of-centre have
heard, and to some degree, agree with the "I'm a citizen, not a
consumer" slogan. For a period at least, and seemingly into the present,
that is a minority held opinion.
However, this tired cliché
transformed as this person unpacked the idea. I wish I could remember where I
heard the interview, even money say Strong Towns. Here's the basics. We are all
consumers, but we are also all citizens (for the most part), and nearly all of us
are workers. We can be easily subdivided into the major categories that make up
life, but the priorities of one cohort of society is radically different to
another. There are some very easy examples. As a consumer I wanted the lowest
cost goods of a reasonable quality. This set of values leads to all sorts of
policy and economic decisions. Basically the end logical conclusion are massive
box stores or retailers like Amazon. They exchange service for price and
expediency. They also trade away reasonable wages, domestic manufacturing and
other potential ideals. As a worker first, or primary worker-based mindset I
come to different conclusions. I start to see my interests now in the prices of
the bulk, poorly-manufactured goods on the shelves, but with my fellow workers.
I understand that their plight is inexorably linked to my own. In this equation
there is only one Walton family, there are plenty of Wal-Mart greeters, and I
know which group I am closer to. There is more to consider than the bottom line... isn't there?
From the consumer mindset
I want maximum control over my own resources. Low taxes, low fees, and a small
government fit within that rationale. Government can be efficient, but even
still it is rarely cheap. A vague sense of collective responsibility falls to the
wayside when measured against one's own towering self-interest.
In a world before we were
all consumers there was a certain rationality to how we could and did look at
society. Look at farmers. This bizarre subset, neither worker nor capitalist,
is squeezed out by our collective interests. What do I care about agriculture?
I want my share of suburbia and they charge too much for their vegetables
anyway. Advocates used to speak on behalf of different factions within society
and did not need to be part of a special coalition, task force or interest
group.
The examples, I am
confident, are endless. Perhaps one to end on is civic identity. Within North
America (and I'm sure in some quarters still) one's neighbourhood and town/city
was a major source of pride. Boosterism described the unmoored optimism about
people's hometown. Perhaps the symptom is more acute in the 'burbs, but I know
few who care about their hometowns. They live wherever they could afford it, or happen to work nearby. There is often a vague support, but only if
it comes with no sacrifice. They don't know their mayor, or councillor or local issues.
These identities and which
one holds primacy shapes how we perceive the world and what values we manifest.
Acting out of our consumer interest certainly is valid, but as it has become predominant
and overriding I cannot help but wonder what has been cast aside, and if it
will ever be restored.
