Materialism is about having things. "Comfortism" (still taking suggestions for a better word) is about the ease and/or comfort that those things bring to your life. It would be very helpful to separate those concepts.
I love my ipod not because it's a sleeky shiny pricey toy, but because carrying around all my music at once makes life more pleasant. I love my appliances not because they're the very latest thing in energy-efficient appliances, but because they make life so much easier. I love my computer not because it looks cool and was when I bought it faster than anyone else's computer, but because it allows me to do whatever I need or want to do without any waiting or technical difficulties.
These motivations for owning consumer goods should not be given the same label as the motivations of someone who wants to own something to show off or be cool or impress other people or so people will go "Whoa, they have a solid gold Hummer, they must be rich!" (If people actually have these motivations - I've found that people are quick to ascribe truly materialistic motivations to others, but if you ask people about their own motivations it's for ease or comfort or convenience).
13 comments:
Are you a mac user, Impudent?
I think comfortism is one form materialism takes. There are probably several forms, some more odious, some more excuseable.
"I've found that people are quick to ascribe truly materialistic motivations to others, but if you ask people about their own motivations it's for ease or comfort or convenience)."
I agree. That's the problem - it's a continuum. Once you get accustomed to a certain level of material comfort, that becomes your norm, and you think of it as comfortism. Where to someone else, your comfortism might look like the ego/status-driven materialism.
Or, as I think of it, acquisition for its own sake. More, more, more.
Anon: No I'm not, why?
L-girl: You're right that it's easy to get used to things and they become your norm, which is why I try to avoid things like upgrading my cable package or using department store make-up. But that also happens with things that are completely non-material. For example, I'm lucky enough to have friends that I can be my zit-squeezing nose-picking self with, so now I simply cannot abide so-called friends who I have to be cool to impress. Or on a smaller level, I recently started putting a pillow between my knees when I sleep, and now I'm just not comfortable without out. And these things wouldn't be taken negatively, but the fact that I simply must have some Eddie Izzard on hand for when the world gets to be too much might be. (Although, interestingly, the fact that I also must have some Bach on hand for when the world gets to be too much is far less likely to be taken negatively.)
It was just a guess. You'd said that your computer, when new, was cool--which sounded like a mac user. No that there's anything wrong with that.
Nah, it's just black with an LCD monitor from shortly before those things became normal and boring, plus I splurged on RAM and video card for gaming longevity. So when it was new it looked cool and geeky boys would become enthralled by my graphics quality, but now it's nothing special.
(~sigh~)...too bad.
"You're right that it's easy to get used to things and they become your norm, which is why I try to avoid things like upgrading my cable package or using department store make-up."
I do that, too, although with different things. Yet I find myself upgrading to more comforts anyway. I try to slow the slide, or the climb, or whatever, but...
"For example, I'm lucky enough to have friends that I can be my zit-squeezing nose-picking self with, so now I simply cannot abide so-called friends who I have to be cool to impress."
I can really relate. This has been one of the hardest parts of relocating. For me it's not "cool to impress" but it's other things that go with a lower comfort level.
I hope you get comments emailed to you. I remembered this thread much later.
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