some more
A similar article to that below.
I find their British agrument interesting. Having lived here for 3 yrs I disagree. In both London and Edinburgh I have found the same spread of consumerism as that which they describe in Sydney. Edinburgh less so due to its lower wages and more suburban / community / family environment. The availability and variety of consumer goods is higher here in the UK. Acceptability of spending here is higher here too.
An example is fashion. Fashion has a greater market here in UK, as evidenced by all the conversations I have with Aussie expats saying how they can finally have an excuse to have a lavishly accessorised wardrobe. A wardrobe they could never wear in Sydney, as it would be regarded as too dressy.
Though I am comparing the well to do middle class, and know nothing of the working class here or at home...maybe it is very different...
..............
Vacuous, shallow city with no soul
Brigid Delaney in London (27 Jan 2007) from SMH.
COULD Sydney be the saddest of cities - intellectually bereft, spiritually empty? Are its residents T.S. Eliot's Hollow Men - heads together but whispering nothing except deadening conversations about the latest movement of the property market or fad diet?
Sydney's culture of the relentless pursuit of property, perfect bodies and status has the British psychologist and author Oliver James worried. For his recently released book Affluenza, he travelled to seven countries to research the effect that consumerism has on happiness.
He found that the obsessive pursuit of money and possessions was not buying happiness. But the affluenza virus was worst in Sydney, where he found interviewing locals a depressing experience. It was, he said, "the most vacuous of cities. The Dolly Parton of cities in Australia".
Adelaide and Melbourne had a "different vibe" and didn't strike James as being so materialistic.
James had not been to Sydney before and expected a "philistine nation" of "jolly, uncomplicated fun seekers". Instead he found a city in thrall to American values and a puritan work ethic that robbed life of joy and real meaning. Middle-class Sydney, he writes, is "packed with career-obsessed workaholics".
When they are not working the longest hours in the developed world, they pursue perfect bodies through joyless fitness regimes, or obsess about property prices. Always they are looking around anxiously, in the hope that others aren't doing better.
"[It was] full of people who place a high value on money, professional status and appearance," he said. The result? Sydneysiders have a greater risk of suffering from depression and anxiety.
"They were like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. They had no idea of the point of their lives other than to get rich."
Sydney's already weak intellectual culture has been further eroded by the pursuit of money and possessions, he writes.
While Britain has "its Posh and Becks" cultural differences including a more entrenched class system has put the brakes on the spread of consumerism in Britain.
"The British compared to the US or Aussies are less easily convinced that money will get you further. The British elite have been around for an awfully long time and there is not the crassness of the Australian rich."
This crassness was particularly virulent in the Sydney property market. He noted figures highlighting a rise in depression that coincided with a bullish property market which caused stress and anxiety, particularly among young Australians.
While he despaired about Sydney, he found the "affluenza virus" was not as prevalent outside the Western world.
His advice to Sydneysiders caught on the treadmill?
"Start reading."
I find their British agrument interesting. Having lived here for 3 yrs I disagree. In both London and Edinburgh I have found the same spread of consumerism as that which they describe in Sydney. Edinburgh less so due to its lower wages and more suburban / community / family environment. The availability and variety of consumer goods is higher here in the UK. Acceptability of spending here is higher here too.
An example is fashion. Fashion has a greater market here in UK, as evidenced by all the conversations I have with Aussie expats saying how they can finally have an excuse to have a lavishly accessorised wardrobe. A wardrobe they could never wear in Sydney, as it would be regarded as too dressy.
Though I am comparing the well to do middle class, and know nothing of the working class here or at home...maybe it is very different...
..............
Vacuous, shallow city with no soul
Brigid Delaney in London (27 Jan 2007) from SMH.
COULD Sydney be the saddest of cities - intellectually bereft, spiritually empty? Are its residents T.S. Eliot's Hollow Men - heads together but whispering nothing except deadening conversations about the latest movement of the property market or fad diet?
Sydney's culture of the relentless pursuit of property, perfect bodies and status has the British psychologist and author Oliver James worried. For his recently released book Affluenza, he travelled to seven countries to research the effect that consumerism has on happiness.
He found that the obsessive pursuit of money and possessions was not buying happiness. But the affluenza virus was worst in Sydney, where he found interviewing locals a depressing experience. It was, he said, "the most vacuous of cities. The Dolly Parton of cities in Australia".
Adelaide and Melbourne had a "different vibe" and didn't strike James as being so materialistic.
James had not been to Sydney before and expected a "philistine nation" of "jolly, uncomplicated fun seekers". Instead he found a city in thrall to American values and a puritan work ethic that robbed life of joy and real meaning. Middle-class Sydney, he writes, is "packed with career-obsessed workaholics".
When they are not working the longest hours in the developed world, they pursue perfect bodies through joyless fitness regimes, or obsess about property prices. Always they are looking around anxiously, in the hope that others aren't doing better.
"[It was] full of people who place a high value on money, professional status and appearance," he said. The result? Sydneysiders have a greater risk of suffering from depression and anxiety.
"They were like the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz. They had no idea of the point of their lives other than to get rich."
Sydney's already weak intellectual culture has been further eroded by the pursuit of money and possessions, he writes.
While Britain has "its Posh and Becks" cultural differences including a more entrenched class system has put the brakes on the spread of consumerism in Britain.
"The British compared to the US or Aussies are less easily convinced that money will get you further. The British elite have been around for an awfully long time and there is not the crassness of the Australian rich."
This crassness was particularly virulent in the Sydney property market. He noted figures highlighting a rise in depression that coincided with a bullish property market which caused stress and anxiety, particularly among young Australians.
While he despaired about Sydney, he found the "affluenza virus" was not as prevalent outside the Western world.
His advice to Sydneysiders caught on the treadmill?
"Start reading."
posted by j a s o n at 9:53 pm
3 Comments:
Bought the book at Borders this evening! I'll pass it on when I'm finished.
I think you are right to question. Making such broad generalisations is tricky.
When people compare another country to their own they often ignore that they experienced their own country in a very specific context.
I'm forever complaining about the UK but any comparisons I make to Australia are pretty subjective - heavily influenced by my cosy sheltered upbringing on the Northern Beaches.
Anyway, I love the argument he is making.
Every truth has its limitations, but that doesn't mean it isn't true. I think the biggest criticism you could make of James is that yes he focuses on upper income (implicitly white) working people and spreads his conclusions across the entire city. No mention of the sizeable ethnic populations, the working poor, etc. And I would've thought all the things he raises as anxieties would be greater in the US, eg in New York?
Noting those limitations, I think James has hit onto something, albeit it's not exactly rocket science. It's just a shame he omits two very obvious conclusions. First, that market capitalism isn't a sustainable economic system because it prioritises the most efficient distribution of capital over other common social considerations (eg the environemnt). Second, the Sydney sider materialism didn't come out of nowhere but is a direct result of decades of corporate propaganda aimed at instilling fashionable consumption into the population. Keep consuming things you don't need because it will make you happier, it will help keep the economy going, oh and we'll take you to the cleaners too.
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