I watched Er Chuang’s short video, and everything went numb!

On the giant screen in the sky.

The video is refreshed.

A new video appears on the giant screen in the sky.

[How does consumerism drain the wallets of young people? Is it really useless? ]

……

Seeing this line of big words, a question emerged in the minds of many ancient people in the past dynasties:

"What is consumerism?"

They were puzzled by this term in later generations.

It was at this time.

The preface of the video appeared.

……

[Research has found that lonely people prefer square shapes when buying goods,]

[Because the existence of edges and corners evokes his sense of confrontation with the world, and he will also prefer retro products and anthropomorphic products. ]

[When the economy is bad, everyone will say "Don't buy things you don't need", but if you persist for a while, you will often find that you can't save money at all. 】

[Because what you buy is not what you need from the beginning, but an identity, your lonely identity, which makes you choose edges and corners. 】

[And rudely stopping spending money is suppressing this identity. 】

……

"Lonely people prefer square objects?"

Many ancient people in all dynasties were quite surprised.

This statement made them feel very novel.

At the same time.

Many ancient people with lonely personalities began to think about their preferences in their hearts.

……

[In this video, let's analyze the culprit of all this: consumerism. 】

[Let's talk about how "buy, buy, buy" quietly erodes your life and your dreams? 】

[Let's talk about why this is not a bad thing? Let's talk about how to cure material desires and save money? 】

……

The eyes of many ancient people in all dynasties looked at the giant screen in the sky more attentively.

After listening to the preface, they were very interested in the content of the following video.

……

[Let me ask you a question first. How many advertisements do you see every day? ]

[The answer to this question will be revealed at the end of this video. ]

[But going back to 1970, this number was only 1/10 of the current number. ]

[For most of the long history, society advocated not spending money, but frugality. ]

……

The plane of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin nodded. 28

28 Although he was born of a noble family and had been living a life of luxury since childhood.

But after ascending the throne and becoming emperor, his philosophy of governing the country was to pursue frugality.

Because he knew very well that as an emperor, if he wanted to govern a country well, he could not only think about his own selfish desires, but also control his desire for pleasure.

After a brief thought, he said to Li Zhi beside him:

"Chi Nu, remember, 'A husband should be frugal to cultivate his nature and quiet to cultivate himself. If he is frugal, people will not be tired, and if he is quiet, his subordinates will not be disturbed. If people are tired, they will complain, and if their subordinates are disturbed, the government will be in chaos.Good boy. '"

Taking this opportunity, he also wanted to teach Li Zhi some experience in governing the country.

Hearing this, Li Zhi's face straightened and he replied respectfully:

"I remember it."

...

[This is because resources were very scarce in the past.]

[But times are changing. Humans have learned trade, capitalism, and the industrial revolution, and the technological iteration of the industrial revolution has brought unprecedented productivity.]

[But production alone is not enough. After the products are produced, someone must buy them to complete the economic cycle.]

[In this case, the frugality concept in the past society is not appropriate.]

[After all, consumption is the starting point and end point of economic activities and the main driving force of economic development.]

[Only by promoting consumption and everyone spending more money can we achieve economic development.] , can drive economic growth and promote production development. 】

[If everyone lives a frugal life, how can the national economy develop? 】

[Therefore, we can see that almost all countries in the world advocate consumption. 】

……

The plane of Taizu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked when he saw this.

As an emperor from a poor family, he advocated frugality and hated extravagance and waste.

In his opinion, only by governing the country with diligence and frugality can the country become prosperous.

But at this moment, this passage completely overturned his concept.

"Is frugality not a good thing?"

"Do you need to spend more money to promote the development of the country? ”

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little confused for a while, but was greatly shocked.

In this situation, Zhu's first reaction was to ask his eldest son.

So, he asked Zhu Biao:

"Big brother, do you think so?"

"Why do I sound a little confused?"

Zhu Biao was actually thinking about this problem.

Hearing Zhu Yuanzhang's question, he replied:

"Dad, I think it might be like this."

"You see, people in later generations said that almost all countries in later generations are promoting consumption instead of encouraging frugality."

"This is enough to prove that this approach must be right."

"Moreover, if you think about it carefully, it does make sense. If a business makes something and no one buys it, the business that makes things will not make money and will go bankrupt. In this way, the country will not be able to receive taxes from the business. "

Zhu Biao gave a rough answer according to his own understanding.

As a person who has always lived in an agricultural country, he can only think of this.

As a person who has not received economic education in later generations, he cannot think of a deeper economic cycle theory.

"Boss, you make sense."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly.

Zhu Biao's rough explanation actually helped him understand.

At this time, Zhu Biao continued:

"However, people in later generations also said that this change in concept from frugality to consumption began with the rise of the Industrial Revolution. "

"So, I think it is right for our Ming Dynasty to practice frugality now."

"It will not be too late to promote consumption after the Industrial Revolution begins in the future."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and praised:

"Boss, you are indeed thoughtful."

...

At the same time.

In many other dynasties.

There are also many emperors who are thinking or discussing this issue in the same way.

Because in ancient China, most of the emperors who can make some achievements are adhering to the concept of governing the country with diligence and frugality.

Therefore, the viewpoint of this passage will undoubtedly have a huge impact on their concepts.

...

[In this process, a new ethical view emerged: consumerism.]

[Consumerism does not care about frugality, what it cares most about is Love is to let you gain self-worth from consumption. 】

[Using Maslow's pyramid of needs as an analogy, you used to spend money for low-level needs, such as not starving to death, but now consumption has become your belonging, respect and self-realization. 】

……

Accompanied by narration subtitles.

Maslow's pyramid of needs appeared on the high-altitude giant screen.

Daqin plane.

Qin Shihuang was attracted by this Maslow's pyramid of needs.

"Physiological needs, safety needs, love and belonging needs, respect needs and self-realization needs. ”

Qin Shi Huang looked at the five types of needs from low to high and the detailed explanations, and found it quite interesting.

According to this statement, his current needs are the highest level of self-realization.

Everything he has to do now and in the future is to realize his personal ideal, which is:

Let Daqin become the only superpower that dominates the world!

Let the rest of the places outside Daqin be planted with Daqin’s black black bird flag!

…

[Moreover, you can’t feel this process, you still feel that you are buying practicality and buying a higher quality of life.]

[But from one day on, the meaning of your life has become endless purchases.]

[Just like the Gallic sociologist Baudrillard mentioned in his book "Consumer Society":

"Consumers unconsciously and dominated from one commodity to another.

In today's consumer society, people never consume things themselves, people always use things as symbols that can highlight themselves. ”】

……

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Di’s eyes were full of thought.

He vaguely understood the meaning of “consumerism”.

“Can this also promote the development of the national economy?”

Zhu Di pondered this question.

He didn’t care about the isms or not, he cared about the pros and cons for the country.

……

[There are many types of symbols, and the rules are similar. ]

[First: play deeply. ]

[This is a pair of 19 yuan headphones, this is a pair of 499 yuan headphones, and this is a pair of 4999 yuan headphones. If your wallet allows you to upgrade, you can get the title of audiophile. ]

[Tea, logs, red wine, whiskey, Michelin restaurants... The extreme perception of certain details has become a ticket for consumers to show their superiority. ]

[And this process is destined to be uneconomical. ]

[Affected by the marginal diminishing effect in economics, it only costs you 10 yuan to make something that tastes particularly bad, but it may cost you 1,000 yuan to make something that tastes super delicious. ]

[The higher the level of your play, the more outrageous the money you pay. 】

The barrage flew out:

"Although, you get what you pay for. Good headphones just sound better."

"Reply--It's good, but the improved sound quality is not worth that much money."

"Reply--It depends on the person. Some people think it's not worth it, but some people think it's worth it."

"Reply--People who think it's worth it may be influenced by consumerism."

"Reply--Is it possible that these people who think it's worth it are real audiophiles?"

"Reply--Is it possible that the concept of audiophiles is created by merchants based on consumerism?"

"..."

Many ancient people in all dynasties looked at the giant screen in the sky and thought about something.

This phenomenon of using objects to show their special identity also existed in ancient China.

Is a thing worth that much money? It doesn't matter.

What matters is that this thing can make the owner look extraordinary.

……

[Second: Play with something new. ]

[This is the iPhone XIII, this is the iPhone XIV, and this is the iPhone XV. For most people in the world, the experience of these three phones is not fundamentally different. ]

[We don’t actually need 999G of memory, 99.99 million pixels, and the latest M999 chip... and so on. ]

[But we still enjoy watching the press conference, reading the reviews, and are eager to throw away the past items and replace them with the products of the next era as soon as possible. ]

[After all, being abandoned by the times is not a very good identity. ]

……

“Isn’t this a waste?”

This thought came to the minds of many ancient civilians in all dynasties.

In their minds, since things are not broken, of course they should be used until they are broken.

……

[Third: Play with personality. 】

[Congratulations on moving bricks for a lifetime and getting a new home. Please allow me to show you a few decoration styles. 】

[Modern and simple, pastoral, postmodern, Chinese, European classical, Mediterranean, EasternSouth Asian, Japanese, and Nordic styles are mixed, remember to choose carefully. 】

[These are all invisible personality tests that will determine your future circle and social position. 】

……

The beautiful model room photos of these decoration styles appeared in turn on the high-altitude giant screen.

Many ancient people from all dynasties were dazzled.

Many of these distinctive decoration styles made them feel quite novel.

……

[Fourth: Diderot effect. 】

[When you buy a product, you will find that other things in your hand suddenly don’t match it. 】

[If you buy a headset, you have to upgrade your headphone amplifier; if you buy a camera, you have to upgrade your lens. 】

[The dream linkage between shopping desires will make you continue to place orders and buy endlessly. 】

……

The plane of Emperor Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty.

Zhu Gaochi asked:

"Will it be like this?"

Hearing this, Zhu Zhanji on the side replied casually:

"It's true. Every time I get a good cricket, I feel that an ordinary cage is not worthy of it. I have to get a good cage for it."

The voice fell.

Zhu Zhanji instantly saw that his grandfather Zhu Di and his father Zhu Gaochi both looked at him unkindly.

"Playthings will ruin your ambition!"

Zhu Di snorted coldly.

Zhu Zhanji's heart skipped a beat and he quickly replied:

"It's all in the past. From now on, I will never play with crickets again!"

"I'm going to develop firearms!"

Zhu Zhanji added one more sentence at the end.

After hearing what Zhu Zhanji said, Zhu Di's expression eased a little.

……

【But now, it is not the part of criticizing consumerism that is popular. 】

【On the contrary, you can say that consumerism is a symbol, but you cannot say that this symbol is useless. 】

【You will always have the needs of belonging, respect and self-realization, and consumption is the most popular and direct way to meet these needs. 】

【As long as you believe enough in the identity that consumption gives you, your life can be truly improved. 】

……

“? Why is this?”

Hearing this, many ancient people in all dynasties looked puzzled.

They could not understand this statement.

……

【The best example is the research on brands, especially the research on "labeling parallel imports with brand names". 】

【Putting a top brand logo on the same golf club can reduce the number of holes in the hole for the players. 】

[Drinking discounted energy drinks will reduce athletic ability. 】

[And studies have shown that just thinking about the Apple brand can make a person more creative. 】

The barrage flew out:

“Is this a psychological effect?”

“Reply——It’s the influence of psychological suggestion.”

“…”

Many ancient people in all dynasties were puzzled when they saw these examples.

Can the same thing, just with a famous label, have different effects on people?

Some ancient people expressed doubts about this.

However.

At the same time.

There are also other ancient people who believe this statement a little.

Because they recall similar things that happened to them.

For example, an ancient man who had been on the battlefield remembered that he had mistakenly picked up a precious sword. As a result, his confidence increased and he killed a few more enemies on the battlefield.

After the war, he learned that the sword he picked up was actually just an ordinary sword, not a precious sword at all.

……

[You say that famous brands are just a gimmick, but if something makes you feel good and can make you do things better, can you say it is not good? 】

……

Many ancient people in all dynasties nodded slightly.

That said, it does make sense.

……

[At the same time. ]

[In an era where everyone consumes, even the most sober people cannot ignore its social and entertainment value. ]

[Talking to your bestie about your favorite bags and showing your bestie your sneakers can give you a strong sense of belonging and improve your mental health. ]

[As long as you don't live in a cave, it's a false proposition to completely get rid of consumerism. ]

……

"It's just buying something, but there are so many things to pay attention to."

Many common people in the past dynasties sighed in their hearts.

They were ancient people living in an agricultural society dominated by self-sufficiency, so they naturally wouldn't have similar ideas.

……

[Of course, letting consumerism grow will also bring many dangers. ]

[Since we have talked about the benefits of consumerism, we must also talk about its three major hazards. 】

……

Hearing this.

Many ancient people in all dynasties looked at it more attentively.

They have become more interested in the topic of consumerism and are curious about the harm of this concept. .