Is this the only power we have?
Is purchasing power the only one we have left? If so, what does your last purchase mean for you?
9/2/2006
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7 Comments:
I bought 3 copies of Marilyn Waring's Counting for Nothing...Amazon. Man. Great book for the right reasons. Wrong retailer? I dunno.
My last purchase was 1st 4 vols. of Osamu Tezuka's (8-vol) comics novel "Buddha". Waited a long time for the paperback edition to be available. No regrets, unanticipated surprises. Is worth more than the money one paid! Best, rama
Actually the only power we have left is the power NOT to purchase....
But the last thing I bought was a remote control for my D70s... I'm breaking out the tripod and getting artsy.
If I may ask, what powers did we really have before?
Also, it seems to me that the power to purchase or not to purchase shouldn't be quite as demeaned as "the only power we have." By not purchasing something, you send a message to your those around you and that company. Even when you decide to purchase, you send an initial message of endorsement, but bad WOM can follow if the experience of the purchase wasn't great. There is a lot within a single purchase.
My last purchase was to satisfy my 'need' of an umbrella because I don't 'want' to get wet. I'd rather have not spent the money on it, but alas, it rains.
The last power we have?
You have speech. And blogging. Let's not forget blogging. And you can choose where to work and on what. Just to name a few :)
My last purchase was a Lensebaby 2.0 for my Canon 350D. What it means? Probably that I still haven't gotted over the urge to spend my money on products way too early in the "hype curve"...
I think my last purchase was a 30 pack of Tecate beer at Raleys for $15.
In a Zen sense this sums up my life, political views, televison preferences and secret lust for a good cheese steak sandwich.
Did I get that wrong? Was this a multiple choice question?
I think that the current political philosphy in our country is that we are consumers not citizens and therein lies the problems. If our government sees us as only consumers, then they can justify a lot of things that might not be in the best interest of the citizens, in the name of what is good for the economy.
Personally, I feel that the greatest thing we can do for anyone is to educate them.
Consumers/Citizens need to understand and be educated about things that matter. I for one want to see the market economy become good stewards of the environment. That is why I love reading magazines like Plenty and Fast Company. It shows a lot of innovative people and commpanies that are trying to serve their client and do it is a socially responsible way.
The best thing that we as consumer-citizens can do it keep the heat on the market place and demand that they become responsible to not only to their shareholders but to the community that they serve.
I love all that I read on your blog Tara. I often wonder why I find it so facinating but I do. I admire your fight and the people that I've met through this blog. I see that you are truely trying to make a difference.
The thing that I find frustrating though is that a lot of what I read about on your blog seems isolated to a geographic location. Many of the younger generation here in Orlando are so apathetic and seem to only be in touch with their lives as consumers.
They say that everything that happens in California takes ten years to get to the East Coast. I'm sure the Internet makes that less true now days.
I want choices as a consumer and as a citizen. If I am going to purchase an item, I want to know how its impact on the environment. I want to know if it encourages slave labor in China and other place of the Pacific rim. Unfortunately, we as consumers never know where our products that we buy come from. We don't know if they cut down virgin trees and displaced hundreds of aboriginal people in the process.
We don't realize that the one child rule in China has created a back door labor supply for the Western world. Many people in China take their "illegal" child and let it work in factories for pennies a day. But we as a consumer never see the underbelly of the global economy.
What I want are choices. I want to be able to chose between brand x that uses slave labor and brand z who does not. I want to be able to purchase food from brand Q that does not add mercury to the water and causes birth defects vs brand R that does.
But consumers are ignorant and are not allowed to know the truth about the purchases that they make.
That's what I want as a consumer and as a citizen....
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