Wednesday, 26 January 2011

ECO NO ME - I Am Here to Satisfy your Needs

In my current semester my modules are either in relation to English Writing Skills - or Economy/Business Management.

The first point that opened up while reading one of my prescribed books was that of 'need satisfaction' - where 'the people' are the source of unlimited needs - and the business, the economy is merely the humble servant of 'the people' and their 'unlimited needs' - at your service.


The authors explain that it is the needs of the people that are ever changing and evolving, and that the business/economy has to keep up and provide.

While - if I look at my own experience - my 'basic needs' stay the same: I require food as energy to survive, I require shelter, I require clothing, I require air to breathe, a hole to poo in. These needs don't change, these needs do not 'evolve' - it's not like I develop new needs that if they do not get satisfied that I die.


The "needs" that 'evolve', that 'change' - are not needs that we develop, but needs that are presented to us. Because - you can only 'want' and 'need' an iPod once you have knowledge of the iPod (which the business manufactures and provides) - after you have seen the iPod, have heard about the iPod. These needs are 'given' to you in a way through audiovisual advertising by the company. But you did not have this need before there was an iPod. Saying that your need was there before, is just some Capitalistic mambo jumbo to justify why they keep on producing products that do not last - and release a particular versions of a products while they already have designed a way better version - but hey what the heck, we'll just keep on buying.

Another point was how they present statistics and data in a way to support the argument that Capitalism is the ultimate system and the solution to all your problems. Where they'll go 'Oh look at the US and look at all those countries there, they all have a capitalistic money system and you know what, they are wealthy = thus if you want to be a wealthy country you just got to implement capitalism!'

That's such a 'one sided' way of looking at it. They don't look or give information of how that country's position as a capitalistic system influence every other country in the world or any other relationship. You cannot isolate one country from another as it's one big whole. You pull a string here, it's going to ruffle on the other side.

So that is some observations I've made while starting my new semester - and the bullshit they try to pull off in the textbooks.

An Equal Money System is what we need!

1 comment:

Marlen said...

"The "needs" that 'evolve', that 'change' - are not needs that we develop, but needs that are presented to us. Because - you can only 'want' and 'need' an iPod once you have knowledge of the iPod"

Definitely so - when I came back from SA I was re-discovering the new stuff in this world, was amazed at the large queues in germany to buy something like the iphone or ipad and thus further investigated what it is and saw how it was extensively promoted

I mean, these are the kind of items that are talked about almost on a daily basis on the news and wondering about Steve Jobs' current health (he's the apple master-mind lol)

All revolves around creating these type of hype that pushes people to want to go to the nearest apple store (lol wrote 'stole') to get the latest direct 'touch' of these items.

Marketing is essentially the creation of 'needs' that aren't really needs but profit-making creations that are well disguised as items that one 'must have'

Equal Money System will stop the creation of such unnecessary 'needs' simply to trap consumers into their next binge.

Thanks Leila! cool and inspiring post