Interesting discussion on the radio this morning about turbo consumerism. Listen again here.

Neal Lawson, Political correspondent for the Guardian newspaper and chair of the left wing democratic pressure group Compass, spoke eloquently about his feelings that our society is increasingly addicted to shopping- the main leisure pursuit of the nation. Lawson suggested that our sense of identity, well being and status have become tied up in the getting of STUFF. We talk about ‘retail therapy’- where shopping serves a deep purpose in our lives in terms of attempting to define who and what we are.

It could be suggested that western industrial society has always been consumer orientated, but at some time in the 80’s and 90’s we changed from a consumer society to a TURBO consumer society according to Lawson- a product of a culture that increasingly became credit and debt driven, and an economy that required us to upgrade our gadgets every 6-12 months in order to remain viable.

Lawson suggeted that people at the bottom of the income scale, who are unlikely to achieve highly in terms of education or employment invest a huge amount in designer labels- and this becomes a source of large amounts of crime.

None of us are unaffected by turbo consumerism. The advertising industry in all it’s multi layered sophistication, is intent on creating dissatisfaction with what we have, and what we look like, what our life is about, so that we might be more ready consumers of produce, gadgets and lifestyle enhancements.

On my drive back from Bute today, some familiar questions were rattling around in my brain…

Is there a way back from this?

Is there a better way to live?

Do I need a new phone/car(scrappage allowance none withstanding!)/TV/MP3 player etc etc?

If I/we stop buying these products, then is recession not inevitable?

But who is paying the cost for this mad lifestyle now? Is it making us happy? What about the huge inequalities within our society, and the insatiable need for raw materials and cheap labour from the majority of the world?

Where do I start, and can I really make a difference?

I suppose the interesting thing is that these questions are being asked by many in the wake of the recent economic upheavals.

And some Christians are raising their voices to suggest alternative ways to live. Check out Generous.

Time to stop shopping, and start living…