The Overspent American Why We Want What We Dont Need
The Overspent American explores why so many of us feel materially dissatisfied, why we work staggeringly long hours and yet walk around with ever-present mental “wish lists” of things to buy or get, and why Americans save less than virtually anyone in the world. Unlike many experts, Harvard economist Juliet B. Schor does not blame consumers’ lack of self-discipline. Nor does she blame advertisers. Instead she analyzes the crisis of the American consumer in a culture where spending has become the ultimate social art.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars A quick and interesting perusal of our dire straits
This book is certainly worth reading, particularly if you are just embarking on a voyage sparked by a little nagging feeling that perhaps we don’t need all those shoes, shirts, suitcases, toys, etc. crowding up our houses, which maybe feel a little too sprawling, in an neighborhood that is a little too over-developed…This book is a great introduction to the rampant consumerism dominating American culture — to our wealth and the waste it has spawned — and gives you some great solutions to avoiding the downslide yourself, and mending those areas that may need mending, both personally and socially. The author could have taken out most of the middle of the book, in which she details the lives of some “downsizers” — it is not terribly helpful unless your situation is nearly identical to one of those downsizers, and so I skipped it. Otherwise, this book is a quick read and well worth it.
4 Stars Consumption ?ber alles…
We have to buy something to learn that we’re buying too much. In this case, a book. This paradox alone demonstrates the United States’ deeply ingrained and all-encompassing consumerism. The book in question, by its mere existence in the marketplace, helps drive the point home. But doesn’t such recursive amelioration prove that we’re beyond help? Once again: we need to consume to learn how to consume less. It sounds like something straight out of Kafka or Lear. Zeno would be proud of us moderns. Of course, the proposition ignores alternatives such as borrowing the book. Still, somebody has to buy it, either a library or a friend. One typically has to own what one lends. Nonetheless, borrowing entails less consumption. And isn’t that the point? To go further, if one person reads the book and imparts its contents to friends, colleagues, and relatives, those audiences don’t really need to buy the book to learn from it. Vicarious learning is still learning. More important, they didn’t need to consume to begin thinking about consuming less. Benefits of ownership can be dispersed. The paradox has weakened. We’re not encased in perpetual consumer amber. There is a way out and Juliet Schor’s “The Overspent American” builds a foundation for breaking our national consumption addiction.
Though now a decade old, the problems outlined in this book remain prevalent. Probably more prevalent given the economic crises plaguing today’s economy. People don’t seem to think before they buy. And the mythology of the consumable, now escalated to a divine mystery, encourages reckless spending. In the first four chapters, Schor goes a long way towards dissolving some of these myths. She looks at the workings of products on people’s psyches. Advertising, wish fulfillment, keeping up with the real or imaginary Joneses, status seeking, or just plain addiction emerge as suspects. She introduces the notion, not new, of a “reference group.” These can be friends, colleagues, neighbors, or even fictional characters. People tend to emulate, or want to emulate, the lifestyles of such groups. So they spend to “Keep up” or “fit in.” The lower income non-profit employee socializing with lawyers or executives will experience this problem like a club to the head. Money will vaporize. The lesson: choose your reference groups wisely. But even something as innocuous as having children can increase spending. Parents can find themselves spending to keep their kids up with the Joneses kids. Vicious cycles emerge as can with gift giving between adults. Social pressure alone may lead to consumption. All of this can result in one’s own identity becoming wrapped up products. We become what we buy.
It’s all well and good to point out problems, and even the root of problems, but what can people do to solve them? In response, Schor goes beyond mere description. The book’s remaining chapters discuss downshifting and habit breaking. “Downshifters” have rejected the consumer lifestyle. They try to get by with less to avoid the work-and-spend gerbil wheel of modern society. Schor profiles, based on personal interviews, people who have attempted voluntary and involuntary downshifting. Some were more successful than others. Nearly all came from affluence, which may sound circular, but Schor says in her introduction that her target audience is the upper-middle class. This group has disposable income and seems more prone to dangerous reckless spending, regardless of their educational levels. The profiles show that downshifting isn’t for everyone and comes with risks. For those intimidated by such drastic lifestyle shifts, the final chapter lists nine principles to help cut down on consumption. Anyone can do these. An epilogue attempts to answer the question “Will consuming less wreck the economy?” Some of the arguments presented here seem tenuous and undeveloped; likely an entire book would be required to adequately address these issues.
A word of warning: “The Overspent American” may cause a life-changing shift in some readers. It makes ridiculous some of the habits we now take for granted. It undermines some of the rationalizations people present, to themselves and others, for excessive spending. Most of all, it points out that too much consumption is very much a bad thing from personal, societal, ecological, and economic perspectives. We haven’t stepped off the dangerous road we were on when this book was published ten years ago. Some of the implications of this have arguably begun to emerge only today. This book retains its relevance in the face of our sagging economy bloating with people addicted to personal fulfillment through spending. If you can borrow this book, do so, but it nonetheless justifies its cover price.
5 Stars Enlightening
I knew there was something wrong with society, but it took this book to help me identify what intensified this mad race for the almighty thing. I appreciated that she was able to include scientific data without interrupting the follow of the book. I also liked the voice in this book better then some of the down shifting memoirs I was looking at at the time. It was a great combo of readability and scientific backing.
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