FOR hundreds of years, economics has been the study of scarcity and how having limited resources, but unlimited wants is the fundamental axiom of our society. Throughout recent globalization in Bacolod, we have seen a chain of transnational companies emerge in our city such as food chains, apparel and many more.
The primary scheme of these companies is to create a desire within the consumer to buy more of their products, even if they are already well off. This is a dangerous resurgence, as it keeps the demand of their products inelastic; or, in other words, they can freely change the prices of their products and make even more profit from consumers.
But from consumerism stems a much larger problem altogether. Consumerism mostly assumes that we are already from a financially fortunate background. These international companies that operate in our city know this fact and therefore try to “hype” us into their products, taking our money from better investments.
Furthermore, the rise of these companies has also seen a direct correlation with the selfishness of the average, financially stable person. The average person now wants to consume more of their products, feeling that by doing so they will gain a higher status. A status on allegations of superiority.
Meredith Thring, an engineer and futurist from the previous century, once stated that these companies would emerge. However, he also applied the economic “law of diminishing marginal returns” to our society. He stated that once you reach a certain income threshold, where you and your family are financially comfortable, any marginal income from that point will actually stagnate or even deteriorate your happiness level.
Many times, we see rich people constantly acquiring new goods and services that we could never dream of even touching. Yet, if we take a deeper look into their lives, we see that they are horribly miserable.
In order to alleviate the miseries of material acquisition from the rich, I have one proposal: give into philanthropy.
Philippines is one of the most poor and overpopulated countries in the world. Our hospitals are overrun with patients who don’t know anything about birth control. Our schools are filled with students who drop out before high school. Our streets are filled with unplanned pregnancies. Our factories and farms are filled with children laboring 12 hour shifts.
All of these people are in thick, incarcerating chains that will take a collective effort of those more fortunate to break. By helping these people out of their condition, we can find an inner sense of peace; that we are not just slaving ourselves away into accumulating senseless riches and material.
On the contrary, do not think that I am telling anyone to abandon his wealth. It is your money and you have every right to seek pleasure from it. But remember that pleasure is only a temporary satisfaction. When you know you have saved another human being, then comes true, inner happiness.
According to the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a psychological study that has spanned over 80 years on the lives of adults and their offspring, they found one fundamental trait among those subjects that lived the happiest, most fulfilled lives: they had the strongest relationships.
Materialism distracts us from the innate search for compassion and relationships with one another. It indulges us in temporary pleasures that soon grow weary, forcing us into this cycle of acquisition to hope that one day we can be truly happy.
We need to revisit what was lost in our “modern society.” The love of companionship. The strength of relationships.
The happiness of salvation.