Wednesday, September 17, 2008

You do not desire STUFF.

"But human nature is that PEOPLE WANT STUFF."

That is not human nature.

It is not human nature to desire a Furby. The desire for Furbies is a social construct. The desire for Fast Cars is a social construct. The desire for iPods is a social construct. The desire for Tier 6 gear is a social construct. The desire for particular Magic Cards, Warhammer figures, candy, puppies, etc. is a social construct.

Human beings seek happiness as opposed to sadness, fulfillment as opposed to emptiness. But "STUFF" is not that fundamental human desire. "STUFF" is what capitalist societies offer as a means of "filling the void", so to speak, a means of finding happiness, completion. What compels people to purchase items in a capitalist society is the propagated lie that property = happiness, that acquisition of items manifests a feeling of happiness, that a metaphysical human completion can be found in material items.

Look at the transition of certain people from WoW to Warhammer. It is not the case that these people truly desired those items in WoW which, four or five months ago, they would have stated that they desired. Rather, there was a fundamental sense of desire, a fundamental longing, which they sought to quench through WoW. The quenching of this fundamental desire was not possible and so they are going to Warhammer to, inevitably, find themselves in the same situation eventually.

Think of your own experience. You really wanted a X. Then you got a X. That X was cool for a while. But, then you grew tired of it. The X was not as cool as it once was. The novelty wore off. Your "desire changed". The fad ended. But in truth none of these explanations are accurate. Rather, your fundamental desire, that quintessential human quality of longing for completion was not met by the material object you obtained, as it never will be.

That's the philosophical problem with the perception people have of human nature when existing within capitalist societies. In truth, human beings do not desire Furbies, fast cars, phat lootz, big houses, pools, etc. Human Beings desire fulfillment, happiness, completion. What capitalist societies do is actualize a clever trick of convincing people that material objects, jobs, relationships, STUFF will fulfill that desire.

Observe how compelled people are to argue that human beings have a desire for stuff, that happiness and completion can be found in material objects. Thousands of people think this. But they are confused; their actions indicate this. If human beings desired Furbies then desire would cease once a Furby is obtained and for so long as that Furby is possessed. If human beings desired Tier 6 gear they would not stop playing WoW. If human beings found completion, happiness, in the house they purchased at time X they would never move.

It's all a matter of that confusion marketing manifests in people. Human beings seek completion, seek happiness. Capitalist societies utilize that fundamental desire by presenting material goods, "STUFF", as a means of satiating that desire. Capitalism convinces people that they can buy their way to happiness, that the fundamental human longing can be filled with puppies and tier 6 gear and Furbies and Sprite. Hell, to be more accurate, capitalism convinces people that there is no fundamental longing for happiness or completion but rather there are particular desires for particular cars, particular games, particular beverages.

But we know it is a lie. We know that we cannot find happiness, fulfillment, in material possessions. Our lives are proof to the contrary!

One plays Diablo II and then goes on to WoW. One plays Magic and then goes on to Warhammer or Poker. One buys a dog, and then a cat, and then fish, and then a ferret. One has a child, and then another, and then another. One finds a significant other and then has an affair. You are seeking something; human beings are each seeking something. But that which you seek will never be fulfilled by material STUFF.

You know it's true. Your life is proof of this.

2 comments:

Caleb said...

I am fulfilled by your rants.

_J_ said...

The reception on the guild forums to this was contempt and mockery.

It's nice to know that some people don't hate it.