From de But en Blanc

Here is an interview from the French magazine ‘Page’ of the philosopher Gilles Lipovetsky. Very interesting thoughts about consumption.

In his last book Gilles Lipovetsky, (French philosopher) speaks about the paradoxical relationship between consumption and happiness. He refutes the simplistic vision of a humanity damaged by consumption and materialism.

Guillaume Erner: Your book tries to refute the criticisms of consumption
Gilles Lipovetsky: The paranoiac condemnation of consumption is now substituting to the thought of our rapport with objects. This automatism comes from the fascination of several intellectuals of radical thoughts. Nevertheless, thank god, our existences aren’t just dedicated to a tragedy. There is still room in our daily life for thoughtlessness, superficiality and small happiness for a pleasant living.

Can we be happy in a consumerist universe?
Nine out of ten people say they are happy, but at the same time, there is an increasing level of depression, anxiety and suicide in our society… We now use three times more energy than in the 60’s but we still aren’t any happier. Additionally, we have a lot more satisfaction and entertainment in our life, however the overall level of happiness doesn’t increase as these do. There is no progress of happiness. However, objects aren’t the main cause of our misfortune; our despair is generally caused by our relationships with ourselves and the others. There are a number of forms of frustration linked to poverty and financial constraint, here the drama doesn’t come from consumption but from the desire to consume. But, consumption isn’t the devil some people think it is.

What is your judgment on the society of hyper-consumption?
This society allows individuals to try new freedoms, especially customization. I don’t believe in a standardization of tests; in the contrary, we attend to the multiplication of individual tests. The difference between the goods and services, from tourism to medicine, allows us to have a pleasant living, but also to change quicker our existence when we feel the need. Unless to be deeply hypocritical, I don’t see the critics of the consumptions society deciding to do without some goods and services we have. But on the other side, this society favours individualism, this has changed the relations with the others. The society of hyper-consumption has weaken the beings: addiction, obesity, excessive debt…

Does today’s society manipulate people?
No, people aren’t fooled with advertising. They know that advertising isn’t telling all the truth, and most don’t believe what it is telling them. So we can’t pretend that advertising manipulates people. If consumers don’t like a product, advertising won’t change their minds. Individuals aren’t without weapons, just look at the success of the consumers right protection associations.

If consumption is still well, so are the criticisms…
It’s because the criticism of consumption comes from the desire to control our own destiny. This is one of the last domains which we can have control over. This is often difficult in the political field and also in the macro economic one. In return, for consumption, our decisions are immediately visible. In the criticism or in the adherence, we find in products a way to express our subjectivity.

But does one moment exist where products take control of us?
Sure, this is the moment where consumption can become suffocating, this is when buying becomes the goal of our life. It’s up to the individuals to have another world different from consumption. The hedonism of the products can’t be blamed for people’s model of living. So if consumption doesn’t make us happy, it’s not an opposition.