Is the love of money the root of all evil? The age of consumerism is a very new concept brought about from the Industrial Revolution in the 1760's and 1770's. Social intimidation and and emulative spending is penetrating deeper than before, a process which explicitly refers to as the 'Veblen Effect', which is considered to have become a force throughout society 'only in the last two centuries'.
The Veblen effect is a general theory of demand in microeconomics which identifies the concepts of conspicuous consumption and status seeking in 1899. You can read more about it here. The theory was named after economist Thorstein Veblen, and is quite similar to the snob effect and the bandwagon effect. The snob effect is preference for goods because they are different from those commonly preferred, usually for consumers who want to use and own exclusive products, price is quality for them. The bandwagon effect is when the preference for a good increases as the number of people buying them increase, they essentially 'jump on the bandwagon'.
What annoys me is how increasingly materialistic our culture has become, especially among the Asian population. I can't complain too much because I'm also a hypocrite. I too, enjoy the finer things in life, but at least I know I have put in the effort to have the higher level of thinking to understand the forces behind consumerism and to think that one step higher, so that I don't become one of the gullible mindless lemmings in the rat race for consumption, status and power.
I've noticed that among the Asian population there is a significantly higher proportion of individuals who are extremely materialistic, a sign of new money. With the rise of middle class in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea, a new materialistic culture has been bred. Mega malls are built. Brand names are everywhere.
With increased income, people have the increased propensity to consume. The difference between the level of consumption between individuals is the motivations and forces behind them. Since in general, the majority of people in Chinese families are the nouveau rich due to the strict communist regime which wiped out social classes, the rise of money has led to conspicuous consumption based on extrinsic motivators for status, power and money. Big brand items such as Louis Vuitton has become a household name for an luxurious item to own.
“That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something…real.” Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his arms. “Real love, real friends, real body parts…”
People with old money tend to be less conspicuous in their spending and consumption, they tend to be more conservative in general. What I like about people with old money is that although they are extremely lucky to have inherited their fortunes, they tend to be more experiential people with deep thoughts and high levels of thinking. They have well developed manners and etiquette, and their dealings and attitude towards people tend to be humble, honest and with integrity, maturity and respect. They have a fine appreciation of all those things around them, whether it be particular items, history, culture and nature. They don't need to dress flashy and drive the latest Lamborghini although society has pressured some to 'fit in' by doing so.
My friend and I were discussing about the consumerist culture only just last night which brought me to write this blog. We both noticed that those who don't enjoy and appreciate nature tend to be very materialistic and hold shallow values. They prefer city life. The conspicuous consumption of materialistic goods. What we noticed is that there seems to be a significant trend that people from Taiwan and Hong Kong who lack these values and appreciation of nature and natural beauty. They have no interest in star gazing or astronomical events, they have no interest in visiting natural wonders or hiking through the natural bushland. I personally prefer a balanced approach of city life and nature to get the both sides of life.
The real question is do I love money? For me, I prefer a balanced approach towards earning and consumption of money. I tend to buy things that provide best value in return of services or experience. I put a mental value on these items and services and compare it with other ones to see whether it's worth the price advertised. I avoid the mindset of status seeking and consumption.
Having a basic understanding of consumption and the micro-economic theory will benefit those with entrepreneurship in mind such as myself. If I do earn money, I will do my best to earn in a morally and ethically manner. The basic thought behind an entrepreneur is to earn money. To me that is an extremely shallow thought and there is much more behind the level of thinking.
How you earn that money, and why you earn that money is important. Some business people exploit the weak-minded consumerists who feed on status and conspicuous consumption. Others exploit the natural resources of their country, at the cost of the growing disparity between the rich and the poor and the destruction of our natural landscapes and also which in turn also gives rise to corruption, An example of which is the oil palm and logging industry in Malaysia. Tycoons have emerged from such industries who practice unsustainable oil palm farming through clearing and logging over 60% of the total Borneo forests in Malaysia and in return replacing them with oil palm reserves.
I was fortunate enough to celebrate Chinese New Year family gathering with one of these tycoons in their private 'palace' which you can read more about here. I don't want to disclose too much information for privacy reasons, but the family is controversially well known for oil palm and logging, which is destroying the Penan tribe's forests in Malaysia. It's a sign of how greed, corruption and lack of empathy can influence people under the motivation for money, status and power. You can read an article about it here.I know with my career as a town planner, as small of a difference I can make, it is still something positive that benefits the community and the city. You are earning money to improve the city. Such altruistic thought is one of my motivational factors in my career.
Such power also comes with great responsibility. Planners are very susceptible for corruption as money can heavily influence planning approval decisions in Asian countries such as China, Malaysia, Taiwan or Vietnam. With a single tick you can demolish a whole forest to be replaced by oil palm reserves or new development. Don't be fooled by the picture below, although it appears to be very green the majority of the green is from oil palm trees.
At least in Australia there are stricter regulations in planning to prevent the likelihood of corruption but it may still occur behind closed doors. Deals may be made. As a planner, you should always maintain high ethics in all your professional dealings.
My entrepreneurship goal is to start my own real estate empire in cities around the world, starting with the Australian property market. It's important to understand the micro and macro economics at play, and each country has different regulations and factors which influence the demand and supply of the market. Why would I want so much money? Financial freedom and power. In this world, money speaks, and if this power is used in an altruistic manner it can really make a difference. I can choose to donate a certain percentage of my money to the poor or to a foundation, but if I can establish a sustainable system to educate and prevent the likelihood of people to become homeless, to fight against human rights and for what I believe in, it can really make a real difference.