Wednesday, July 19

 

'Waste is a virtue in an advanced capitalist society'

Probably a bad misquote from 'Dance, Dance, Dance'

But this was something I believe Murakami was saying through his character. The novel is set in 80's Japan in the height of the prosperous boom, and the main character who lives relatively frugally seems saddened by the indulgent society.

I feel this sometimes with myself, consumerism gets the better of us all. Its the new religion. Capitalism only propagates its own message

I remember reading Chris Anderson about his experience in Mumbai he was astonished by the scale, and number of people and how cheap it was. That the people could in a sense be wasted.

This stuck with me, I don't think he meant wasted in a negative sense, he compared it with Carver Mead encouraging his student to waste transistors , which brought advances like the graphical user interface. Its difficult using that word about other humans, but that is what we do and its what civilisation has depended on.

posted by 12345 6:26 PM