Christman’s take on consumption is right on. Which when explained is easy to understand.

Think about what the average office workers talk about. What shows they’re “binge-watching” (when tf did that become a thing? I guess when Netflix made sure that they’d hook everyone in by immediately playing the next episode as soon as the credits started rolling), the results of last night’s local and national sports games, etc.

And then backyard get togethers, what do old friends and family talk about? Acquisitions, how much this cost, what a good deal they got on that, etc. All materialistic in nature.

Everyone’s frame of reference is consumer goods, MSM “reporting” (hence water cooler talk about Russia, China, etc), sports, cars, getting bargains on consumer goods, what routes they travel to work, empty bragging about their kids, adopting whatever the next media/consumer trends are with regard to food/fashion/etc.

Look at the Reddit content for local cities/towns. Mostly little self-absorbed yuppies rating their subpar or mediocre restaurants as if it’s of paramount importance.

And all of this exists and perpetuates at the cost of any class solidarity ever developing.

As that old age goes: the difference between the Irish (or whatever non-American you prefer) worker and the American one is, when they’re both standing looking at the boss’s mansion on the hill, the American says “someday I’m going to have one myself” while the Irish one says “someday I’m gonna get that bastard.”

It’s rare when one can have an open and honest conversation about how fucked over we’ve all been by health insurance companies with an eye toward doing something collectively. Which most times is sadly met by that modern, surrender but assumed faux profundity that often is intended to end conversations, “it is what it is.”

Makes me slide into misanthropy.

Gotta form a book club just to meet a few comrades. Because I know they’re out there.