Note on “True Affluence” and Consumerism
It’s the birthday of the American poet, practicing Buddhist and an environmental activist Gary Snyder (pictured), whom Lawrence Ferlinghetti once called “The Thoreau of the Beat Generation.”
An excellent quote: “As a poet I hold the most archaic values on earth. They go back to the Neolithic: the fertility of the soil, the magic of animals, the power-vision in solitude, the terrifying initiation and rebirth, the love and ecstasy of the dance, the common work of the tribe.”
The most direct relevance to the blog here is this thing of beauty: “True affluence is not needing anything.” We often speak here about how “living small is the new living large.” Apparently, few people ever understood this better than Gary Snyder.
What a stark contrast this is to the way we Americans are programmed to think and live, but it’s a reminder that we have an important choice to make.
Craig,
Everyone loves a philosopher preaching peace, harmony, anti-consumerism (described as greed) with all the allure of the aesthete.
“True affluence is not needing anything.” That’s great until you, or your family need a dentist or the medical technology only a highly developed society can provide !
“True affluence is not needing anything.” Actually, when you come to think about it, this is about as selfish a philosophy as can be conceived .
A man with nothing is unable to care for others. He is as docile, but as useless and dependedent as the beasts in the field, less so because at least they have a purpose.
Cultured societies encourage and value artists, poets and philosophers. We do so because it softens the edge of our natural aggressive natures. The aesthetic is an important addition to social values, but it’s only really only decoration.
There’s a certain degree of irony in a poet-lecturer earning a large salary from the University of California at Davis, pontificating on the evils of consumerism and capitalism.
The irony is part of the complex economy and society that provides a luxurious settings for such musings, created by the hard work and sacrifice by the majority of less exalted citizens.