After discussing the role of religion, and the subsequent lack of religion, within our modern culture at places like Target and the Home Depot, I began thinking again about Geertz's definition of religion (which I've included below) and thought that consumerism might fit pretty well. However stereotypical this may be, I immediately pictured the shoppers at a ritzy mall (i.e. Woodfield or Geneva Commons, if you are familiar with the Chicago land area) as a model for comparison to Geertz's definition.
It is clear that within the consumer society there is an established order (classism) that guides a large portion of our actions and feelings toward life and other individuals. This would be Geertz's "general order of existence". However, if we push further, other aspects of a consumerism can fit fairly well into the rest of the definition. The "powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations" would be the foundations of consumerism: the desire to buy more and more goods. This impulse is more substantial (and possible) in some, just as there are varying degrees of faith within religion. The idea that these moods and motivations are clothed in an "aura of factuality" is apparent in the social hierarchy that is created through consumerism. An individual of "high class", who drives a nice car and wears expensive designer clothing, will often feel superior to others. Similarly, by associating this individual as "high class", the society recognizes the hierarchy as well. As a by-product of this individual's strong "faith" in consumerism, several symbols emerge that mark this faith. A nice car, a big house, and expensive clothing are all clear symbols of a consumeristic faith. The last aspect of Geertz's definition, the "uniquely realistic" part, fits nicely with the fact that a large part of the world is not consumeristic (or at least not to the same degree as our culture). Wether this is a result of government (i.e. Communism) or a lack of opportunity (i.e. third world countries), a relatively small group of cultures in the world buy goods with the same fervor that we do. Though it may or may not be a stretch to think of consumerism as a religion, it definitely is an interesting concept, and one with some legitimate connections to how we think and define religion.
A system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive, and long-lasting moods and motivations in men by formulating conceptions of a general order of existence and clothing these conceptions with such an aura of factuality that the moods and motivations seem uniquely realistic.
I like your idea of fitting consumerism into Geertz's defintion of religion, and it works well, but I am unsure of one thing. Shopping and getting new things is really great but the fun doesn't last long ( long- relatively speaking depending on how materialistic one is). Even the most shallow person eventually needs something more and has a empty feeling within (well, I would hope!). "Long lasting moods and motivations" to me seems to be more that just the desire to buy more and more, but rather something bigger and better beyond that.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really interesting topic... kinda ridiculous that we can actually strongly connect materialism with our reason for existence but interesting non-the-less. abby's comment is also intriguing. could the material one desires to constantly buy have to do with "completing" ones identity to fulfill it or could it have to do with the more you buy, the more environments and places you have influenced which also helps to clarify ones existence. i don't know, but this is a pretty interesting topic to bring up....
ReplyDeleteI agree this is an interesting topic, but I don't think I can agree that consumerism is a religion. While consuming material goods is a long lasting behavior, and yes, the importance places on material goods is increasing, we must look at why people are consuming more. We consume more because of advertising, but also our ideals and values. America was founded on the belief that if you work hard you will earn money, and then with that money we buy stuff. People come from hardship and they want to live comfortably. For their progeny this I think can lead to a sense of entitlement that we deserve all of this stuff when we grow up because we had it when we were young. It is our"god-given" right. These beliefs cause the action of buying lots of stuff, so we need to find why we believe.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really intriguing connection, and it is kind of scary how well the points seem to fit together. One thing I would wonder about is whether consumerism does have the same "unifying" sort of effect we've talked about as a central component of religion? I certainly see how it can create a sense of hierarchy (even a sense of "other-ing" of those who cannot/do not participate in such a system). However, there is no single unifying value system, no good or evil, only the desire for more (which comes out as pretty much an individual thing). Shopping malls are places where lots of people come together, but they end up seeming sort of anonymous and distant from the other people there, rather than joined together in some common belief...
ReplyDeleteThe other day I was talking to a friend of mine who is an international student from Bangladesh. We were talking about individualism in America and how strange it can be. She told me that she was shocked when she realized how unique most Americans feel (as far as identity is concerned).
ReplyDeleteMany people do rely on an accumulation of material goods as a method of expressing their identity (i.e. buying mac instead of pc; buying organic vs. non-organic). But a lot of these people who feel like they are expressing themselves and being unique are in fact just assimilating into a group of people like themselves. Even though that fact seems very obvious and many people who take part in this game of stylish consumerism recognize how silly it all is, they still manage to feel unique or special.
Religion is like the consumerism I describe above. America is full of multi-denominational religions where the overarching beliefs are often similar or identical, yet people feel the need to define meaningless details that 'separate' them from the OTHER denominations.