The quote below is my entry for 1linerweds – you can see the other posts in the link.
As they died to make things holy,let us die to make them cheap, Leonard Cohen
Years ago I studied social sciences and I remember in the coursework they changed a quote by Descartes – “I think therefore I am” to “I buy therefore I am.”
Descartes is credited with the creation of mind-body duality. A new way of thinking that separates the mind and the body.
The “I” that we think of as the essential “us” became our mind, the body almost becoming something separate that “we” have.
Before Descartes it was relatively easy to get up in the morning – there was no “body” to disagree.
Now every day I have to motivate this carcass, this body to GET UP and start the day.
Descartes has lot to answer for.
Living is Buying
The social sciences course was attempting to express how capitalism had affected
society by expressing the actions of human individual purpose in terms of what they buy.
We are ” purchasing mobile economic units.”
We are what we buy – nothing else.
You’re taking the PISC
One idea I’m returning to is my acronym above.
Which pokes fun at this idea –
Post -ironic-satirical capitalism.
The act of buying things not because you’re a capitalist – not because you need them –
but because you are not a capitalist.
You’re buying something that is absolutely rubbish to make a point about how rubbish it all is.
Leonard Cohen –
Leonard Cohen has come up with some great lines in his life.
One of my other favorites is :
“There’s a crack in everything that’s how the light gets in.” which is from his album the future.
Yet his line ,from the album I want it darker, the song called steer your way
“As they died to make things holy,let us die to make them cheap”
Seems to sum up capitalism.
How many can live an empty life losing what is important?
Everything is sales – even our university courses identity us as purchasing units.
(j’achete donc je suis)
Many have died in the pursuit of warfare, as religion is used to influence the masses so the powerful can rule.
How many have died in the pursuit of capitalism?
Many know the promises of globalisation. When goods are cheap to the supposed benefit of all.
Is more governmental oversight needed? Are the true cost of goods accounted for?
The cost of poisoned rivers, the plastic in the oceans or the cost in human lives when there are poor regulations in mining.
The capitalist ideology floating on a sea of forgotten bodies giving us ‘choice.’
So Leonard summed all this up in this one line.
It was the don’t make sense make sausages post where I coined PISC
Corporations now make appliances etc so they die young. Less is more. Or is more less?
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Pay more,get more feel good factor ,before it breaks on the. 2nd day…
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Or it arrives broken
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Planned obsolescence? “Post -ironic-satirical capitalism” You have to have money to throw away to demonstrate this.
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People are sold an illusion currently, so why not a different illusion
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Holler for some dollars! Make it rain money!!!
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Money is back in prime place in the temple, the only temple left…..
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Am I going to have to go all mecha-j3sus and upturn some tables? Bitch better have my money! No money in temples, you pay money for admission first! Grrr! LOL
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Pay money to see the money..
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I heard similar lines from Battle Hymn of the Republic. “As He died to make men holy,
Let us die to make men free;” Cheap can be more costly than free.
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I guess that was Leonard’s original reference.
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Sounds plausible.
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he’s one of my favourites that you’re not supposed to admit to liking..
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#Me too. I think………………..!
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is that not #youtoo isn’t the modern world confusing?
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Yes. I may give up in 20 or so years!
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There are many cases of making things so cheap that they can’t afford to be made at all. It’s hard to resist a bargain.
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this is the point where we solve inequities of global trade. You start 🙂
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My favorite story is domestic (US) trade – WalMart vs. Vlassic Pickles – https://www.fastcompany.com/47593/wal-mart-you-dont-know
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That’s interesting (note that it is pickles again…) And with Amazon joining in the same game.. (lots of dubious stuff there that I happen to know about)
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I didn’t think about the fact that I was in a pickle-free Zone.
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Lol. The old phrase was ‘they were in a right pickle’ definitely an interesting article. There’s a lot of business done through prisons too. Perhaps at a much smaller level but it’s one way to compete with China.
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