SWF, only 25 but age doesn't matter, thinks present economic system is way
too materialistic, wonders what 'virtual materialism' is, wonders when
'virtual materialism' will come to pass, wonders if she can still have lots
and lots of stuff.
Welcome :)
============================================================================
======= Alex,
Thanks for the welcome and the response. When you get to my age, age does
matter. Sometimes it wakes you up and says "Gotcha!" Before we get into
virtual matter, may I ask the following. What is your(our) real reason for
desiring material things. I mean beyond the basic 'necessities' of food,
water, shelter, blue jeans, computers, etc.? What is it about the human
condition that drives us to solid-state matter? Lots of people have
suggested an answer to that one. What doest thou think?
-TD
============================================================================
===========
On 10 Mar 96 Peekaboo wrote:
TD: For what it's worth, I do not think we are leaving the 'age of
materialism'. People since agriculture have been materialistic / greedy /
Wanting Stuff / Profit Motive Oriented, and, they probably always will be.
It is trendy to talk about materialism and/or the demise of materialism but
it won't happen. Engels et al tried it and it didn't work out ! I just
think the way >>wealth is created<< will change; which is no big deal,
that's happened dramatically many times historically.
- peekaboo
============================================================================
===========
Peekaboo: Directly to the point. I like it. However, I have a couple
observations and a couple of questions. 1) Greed predates agriculture by a
mega or so years. The hunter/gatherers were just as human as we. They
probably wanted to accumulated material wealth just as we do. Their big
problem was how to cart it around with them! In other words, they had to be
intensely practical. And so shall we. 2) Engels et al refused to look
carefully at the other side of the equation. They thought that the 98% were
somehow basically different than the 2%. We may be dancing around a
semantics issue here, therefore, the questions: What do you see as the next
major shift regarding the way wealth is created? Why do you think that it's
no big deal? Thanks for your response, Peek. Or might that be Dr. Aboo?
-TD
The only good enemy. A converted one. (circa 1968)
================================================================================