Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic

Rating:
Summary: One Of Those Books That Makes You Go Hmmmm
Review: This was a great book that opened my eyes to a lot ot things going on here at home and indeed around the world. A truly eye-opening account on the downfall of society and what went wrong with the "American Dream". From the days when a credit card was only offered to a select few, to a nation teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, it really made me stop and re-examine my priorities in life and what matters most to me.

I agree with review below in that we have become so materialistic within the last few decades that we have lost our way as a nation and as a society. We have become a nation of people who only want the "best of the best", at any cost. We are raising a whole generation of kids and teenagers who simply don't understand the value of money because they feel it's their God-given right to have anything they want--or else. Many of us are so deep in debt that we never stop to realize the consequences that it's going to have on future generations. We rely on cheap, imported goods that has turned us into a throw-away society. The Middle-class is collapsing, poverty is increasing, credit use is out of control. We are outsourcing jobs to China and Mexico where cheap labor is abundant and plentiful. We have more credit cards than money, closets full of junk that we never use, 62 inch TV sets and $1000 home theatre systems. Back when I was growing up, a 20" TV set was the standard. Today, the MINIMUM that qualifies for a decent set is 32 inches! VCR's have been replaced by DVD recorders, TIVO's, and a host of other digital gadgetry. We have an "all or nothing" attitude when it comes to determining what we want out of life. GIMME GIMME GIMME! Me, Myself, and I. All part of this selfish, "me generation" that has devoured our culture and ruined our financial future. The authors do offer some hope that this current trend CAN be reversed, but not before it's almost too late. I think we all need to sit back and take a good look around us and start asking ourselves a LOT of questions about who we really are, where we are heading, and how we are going to get there.

I highly recommend that EVERYONE have this book in their home library. It should also be required reading in every college and university across the country, particularly for those studying sociology and economics. Am I worried about my future? YOU BET! BUT the book also offers us hope and consolation that we can stop this nonsense right now and reverse the trend before it's too late. The choice is ultimately up to all of us. I wish you all the best.

Rating:
Summary: Makes You Take A Hard, Good Look At Yourself...
Review: I just finished the book last night. I now have a better understanding of society, and indeed of the world around me. (and how everything now makes sense) Almost from the moment of birth, we are conditioned to believe a certain way. We are fed spoon after spoon that we MUST keep up with Jones' and keep chasing that almighty dollar and in turn, our pursuit of happiness and the "American Dream"...

The authors go on to say how we are made to feel guilty if we ever stop in our pursuit of money and material things. We have become a society of WANT WANT WANT, at any financial and emotional cost. While we struggle with soaring consumer debt, outrageous interest rates, rising utility costs, astronomical education costs, we are constantly reminded that without these things, we are nothing. Basically, the message here is watch out for number 1! Make sure you have that mansion on the hill with a three-car garage and a mortgage up to your neck! Make sure you have at least three vehicles! Be certain to get a membership at the local golf and country club! BUY!BUY!BUY! Max out those $50,000 credit cards (at 28% interest), and don't forget to take the family to Disney World twice a year! It's no wonder that the youth of today has become so spoiled rotten. We have CONDITIONED them to believe from an early age that more is better. If little Johnny has a Nintendo, then you'd also better buy a Gamecube an X-Box and a PlayStation! If my neighboor just bought a boat, then I'd better buy a bigger one. If my co-worker takes a trip to Europe, then I'd better book a round-the-world cruise! Do you see what I'm getting at here?

A recent survey stated that the average typical household now owes anywhere from $10 to $20,000 ALONE just in credit card debts. It's almost a paradox how our "money" isn't even real anymore, it's just a sea of numbers and credits on paper . The amount of personal debt that we owe exceeds what the Federal Reserve has in print! (Canadians too!). Personal bankruptcies are at an all time high, and university students often find themselves up in arms when they graduate, only to be stuck with thousands of dollars in tuition debt because they can't find that "dream job" that everyone promised them... It's funny how we want to be paid $50 an hour to stand around and do nothing, all the while expecting the education system to raise our kids and get them ready for the real world! And then we sit and wonder why the divorce rate is over 50%, why families are self-destructing, why it takes two people to work today, why we have so many health problems, and why we never appear to be happy, despite the fact that we seem to "have it all". The authors also examine how the capitalist mindset is behind this current epidemic, and how our mental and spiritual health has gone down the sewer because of it. The book also mentions the tragic impact this "throw-away" society is having on our environment-and our wallets. (yes it's true--most things are only made to last so long and basically self-destruct--it's called planned obsolescence - to keep us buying).

Perhaps on some levels, part of this sickness has been caused by some insecurity on our part, or maybe it's simply because we, as humans, are inherently selfish in our desire to seek more and more. It's just like that old saying goes, the more we have, the more we want. With the holidays now behind us, I remember the conversation I had with my fellow workers about why Christmas has become such a commercialized circus. Well, the answer to that question is because we have MADE IT THAT WAY. Almost from the moment that Halloween is over, we are bombarded with Christmas commercials about the newest toys and latest gadgets, and how we MUST have these things as our lives might somehow be incomplete without them! I have a friend who moved here from India in 1987. He went on to tell that me that he has NEVER seen people so materialistic as the West. Our kids are rude and disrespectful, we are surrounded by angry, frustrated people who fly off the handle over the most trivial things, we have road-rage, store rage, people who cuss and swear with every word, etc. This is something I have noticed more and more within the last decade or so, and I would say that at least from my perspective, it IS getting worse with each passing year. (Just watch Judge Judy if you don't believe me. Most of the lawsuits are brought on by stupid, self-righteous, greedy people).

Inspite of our high standard of living, the many freedoms and luxuries we enjoy, we STILL have the nerve to complain and pursue more material possessions in our quest to feel good and be part of the "in crowd". It's almost disturbing that Christmas has become such a secular holiday controlled entirely by greedy merchants and the credit card companies, but it's also a sad testament to how far we, as humans, have fallen. Is there any hope for future generations, or are we all heading towards financial ruin and a global economic meltdown that only we brought on ourselves? I remember what my late grandfather always used to say: "If you can't afford to pay cash for something, then you're not meant to have it". Words of wisdom for this "me" generation...

The recent falling dollar, combined with many other national and global crisis really makes you stop and wonder just where we are heading. You be the judge. Read the book and come to your own conclusions. Perhaps we all need to re-evaluate ourselves and our lives AND the very things we believe in. I think that in the end, we all need to stop and ask ourselves if this is all worth it, before it's too late. Our waters and skies are poisoned. Humanity is at war with itself, and we are spending ourselves into oblivion. All this just to keep up with the Jones'... Folks, life is too short and too precious. Live for today. Plan for tomorrow. Hope for the best, but be prepared for the worst.

Rating:
Summary: Stopped reading after 20 pages...
Review: Maybe I'm just too far right on the political spectrum to continue reading this book, but the alarm bells started ringing when the author said this book appealed to all political persuasions.

I brushed it off and continued reading. My interpretation of the author's premise that we are going to consume so much that we are going to strip the earth bare if we don't stop was this book was an indictment of our capitalist system and our insatiable desire to consume everything in sight.

There is zero consideration given to the concept of economic productivity: doing more with the same or less and/or it costing less to do. To wit: cars on average have become more fuel efficient; loggers have developed computer programs and special blades to get more wood from the same tree; computer spreadsheets have allowed people to perform thousands of calculations in a second...this core idea of economic progress in my mind renders ineffective the authors essentially Luddite view of the world we live in.

Is rampant consumerism a problem in this country? You bet. Do Americans buy crap they don't need? Yes. Are Americans wasteful? Yes. Are Americans financially worse off in terms of bankruptcy? Generally, yes.

Does that mean we need to cut the workweek? Stop eating red meat? Sounds like a socialist/environmentalist agenda to me.

Rating:
Summary: Everyone should read this!
Review: This book was very eye opening! The author really explains how advertisers pull in their consumers, and why we always feel the need to buy stuff. This book also asks us: is the stuff we buy really what makes us happy? Is it helping our environment as well? This book really made me think about how wasteful I am, and I recommend this book to anybody and everybody!!


Rating:
Summary: Is there an affluenza shot?
Review: Questions raised and addressed in this book get to the heart of why we buy. An obvious answer might be to meet physical and psychological needs such as food, shelter, transportation, safety, security, self-esteem, belongingness. But are we meeting these needs well? For example, does the typical American diet provide optimal health, or too often, various illnesses like colon cancer, heart disease, obesity, acid reflux, depression, and anxiety?

The good news in this book is that there are better, lower cost ways to meet our physical and psychological needs. If our economy gradually begins to slow down, we'll be more "culturally content," running our economy with a higher ratio of health to wealth (some have called it the "joy/stuff ratio") We'll place more emphasis on intrinsic forms of wealth like meaningful work, healthy food systems, close friends, and great communities.

And what about housing? There's no argument that the American home has gotten bigger, but has it gotten qualitatively better, or is it really the most effective unit of consumption the world has ever known? Every day we consume over a hundred pounds of stuff, when the waste products of our consumer goods (like mining slash piles, sawdust, our share of concrete for roads, etc.) are factored in. If our own economy continues to grow along with other economies like China, India, Brazil and Mexico, where will we get additional planets? (Not on Ebay!)

Will a more highly evolved version of the American Dream re-define what it means to be successful, and happy? The authors of Affluenza are convinced that it will, and that that new approach will improve our health, our families, our communities, and the environment. This book is an important and necessary wake-up call!

Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read Book for These Times
Review:
The book Affluenza tells the other side of the story, that media and politicians gloss over: there's an addictive virus running rampant in our society, evidenced by the debt we carry, the epidemic of depression and anxiety we're experiencing, the overworking we do just to make payments on huge houses, wardrobes, and vehicles.

Our economy is like an all-you-can-eat cafeteria where the rules have been changed; we're now told we must keep eating, even though we're "stuffed" and feeling queasy. The economy is co-dependent on "consumer confidence" and gives its blessing to planned obsolescence, shoddy products, waste, species depletion, global warming, asthma, allergies and other environment-related "bads" that are a direct result of over-consumption. Each of these side effects pumps up the GDP, allowing us to believe that everything is great. The question is, what kind of world are we creating?

Unlike the European economy, which emphasizes belonging, not just belongings -- and health, not just wealth -- the American economy is mesmerized and dominated by the constant, devastating flow of junk.

Read this humorous, well-researched book for a mind-opening discussion of the symptoms as well as the cures! I look forward to hearing more from these talented authors, who courageously speak out against the flashfood of excess, neglect, and obliviousness that pervades our hyper culture.

Rating:
Summary: Starts with a Bang...Ends with a Whimper
Review: Affluenza starts out great, with a powerful message to all of us about becoming more aware of our personal consumption. From new cars to new appliances to new clothing, it is the goal of Marketing to make us feel less than zero if we do not obtain these all-important items. It's funny how the phrase "Keeping Up With The Jones's" appeared right around the time of Television, when the Marketing industry realized they could reach right into our very living rooms and tickle our "Gotta-Have-It" bone.

Never have corporations been richer or greedier, and never has the emotional health of our nation been poorer. We work harder and longer for less and less pay while striving to find happiness in an empty purchase. And the busier we become, the less time we take to stop and realize we are working ourselves to death for things We Don't Need.

Affluenza points out the many scars this condition has left on America, from overflowing landfills and polluted waterways to the breakdown of our moral values and even obesity. And yes, the authors do tie this all in together very well.

What I didn't like about Affluenza was that it lost steam about halfway through. After setting off the sirens in my head about this condition, it offered little or no real solution. Not once in the book do the authors even tell us "Turn off your TV", much less "Throw it out". It was rather like being spanked and then told to go take a bath and forget about it.

The solutions were "large", like reducing work hours in America, which we all know needs to be done, but the authors leave it there. They don't talk about how "average Joe" is to go about fixing this problem, like writing to their legislatures or specific organizations to get in touch with.

All in all, Affluenza is a good Wake-Up book, but needed to spend more effort on what we can do to inoculate ourselves from this "consumptive" disease. Enjoy!


Rating:
Summary: affluenza blows
Review: unfortuanately if you are this interested in this book, you are the choir. and its sermon is long and reads like a broken record. we get that you stole a clever title "affluenza" and made it into a book. every other word is some sort of reference back to that idea. it is like ADD in book format. clever titles aside, this book is full of unsupported facts that wreak of seemingly skewed information and is full of ideas you already belive in (malls suck, american personal debt is out of control thanks to credit cards, and SUVs are inefficient). this book reads like an extended college paper - a long long list of vague facts that all center around the idea that we're focused too much on money and products, but never present a clear message.

i swear this book is written on a 6th grade reading level - with simple soundbyte facts, a repetitve overall analogy to the point where i feel dumbed down every time i see the thromometer at each neew chapter, and a general lack of depth further than any cursory internet search would yield.

they say the book is always better than the movie. well this book proves that a book based on a TV show is exponentially worse.