Consumer – the new responsibility.
Now we in the west do not really do anything it appears sometimes to be our real role is to consume – and through consuming define what kind of world we are going to live in. that is the ‘free market’ ( whatever that might mean, and it seems like democracy a tricky concept to me) define the acess through which the entire world is run. We are the singularities that glissen in the centre of the vortex. That is we actually are the eye of the storm – the particle is till air in a changing swirl – whose every presence makes the entire process possible. One can see this in the current worry about America. Speaking in terms of real process America ,ight as well simply not exist. It does not really make anything – and (like much of western Europe0 is on no ‘real’ value within the world. Its role is not to make but to consume , and through consuimg define the way the system operates. If America fails then the form of the system collapses – their would be noting at the heart of the sotrm – and within it the world economy flaters –or at least changes. Effotrs therefore have to be made (and the free market upicked) to ensure the continued presence of the singular ( although of course America has no actual god given right to be this present as such- all that matters is that there is one. In short our role is to mindlessly consume and thereby frive thw process on.
And yet all forms of consumptions appear not to be equal. Us singualirities hve two onerous responisiblities. The first is to continue buying, and the second to only desire those things that can be p[roduiced in huge qualnities, and are there cheap. That is only those goods that are produced in large enough quantities to mean that an entire society can be geared up aroubd their proiduction. It is then our role to put up with the conviuences of being in the entre. We are not actually allowed to wish for what we want – but must consume what we are given. The twin process can sometimes pull together, and somethinges pull apoart – and yet both at absolutely present within all of consuoimng descions.
To illustrates both these points in turn. It is of course a platitude of capitalism that hoe desingns are always changing, new designs be foistered on the unwilling public irrespective of comfort. The only way out of this problem is to opt for a designer label that may or may not be comfortable but at least one knows what it will be like. That is – he entire system is geared up to prodce false choice, and perpetual change. One is forced to buy substandard goods – and therefore when they break (as they oinevitably do), one is forced to buy again and again (the advice must anyways be now if one finds a shoe, or nylon tights or a kettle that actually works buy up all one can and stock pile, as one never kows when one will see it again.) We are therefore forced into a petual motion machine –0 which ahs to runharder and harder to stay where it is. We are singularities and in a sense absolutely stationary – that is we lie at the heart of the system and drive it on in our consuming – but that cob summing is itself hard work – and the entire system is geared up to make it as hard as possible, He then justify this perpetual and pointless motion by the myth that somehow that is just modern live- were one never has time. Of cause on does not – the have constructed a system that deleiberately robs us of time – oit our duty to sacrifice in a thousand pointless ways the time of our lives – that is what afterall singularities do. They might not move in themselves (realtyive that is to everything else) but must rather manufacture motion – that is sacrifice there lives to be a motion – and to keep the entire system moving onward. Be are as time poor as the system creates psuch poverty within us- to be our compensation – our debt – for being conumer rich.
However there is then another bounden duty on consumers. To consume on mass. Individual acts of consumption are valueless – by themsleves they do not act – and do not create the vportex. The entire system has to be then geared up to ensure we can only buy on mass- and only what everyone else wants. This is of course ensured by crerqtng huge differentials in price between the mass goods and all the rest. If one wants individuality one will have to pay a premium for it – that is one has to pay for the right to not e withyin the system. This must then surely be the secret behid such shops as Tesco. Tesco is very much the driving force – the creator of the vortex- within which us singualiries spend – and do our bit. Thatb is define what kind f world we all live inm abd through. The act of going to a ‘value fo moiney’ shop has become as it were an act of faith- hang he the curh we all go to the sops – that is the ‘right’ shops every weeken – and do our bit to keep the globl economy going. In short it has become our duy not just to consume but to consume the right kind of goods, ad do it absolutely and perpetually – for how else can the vortex function?
This is ll very well – but is seems unlikel thius process can last. We all know that in the end even the greatest of vortexs be it hurriance or black hole ends – there comes a moement where the singularity is leveld of – ad the differentials cease to exist – and once that occurs the entire process falls apart. Now .with our current system it is easy to see that occurring in two ways. Either we will simply run out of money (although I suspect the system can cope within this, and manfacture a reason wh y this will not happen) or the system will become too powerful , too all encompsssing, and destroy the local environment (that is the eco-system) in which it occurs. The full horror then of our current situation is that we have to pray the first happens – before the second!