Sociologists have observed that consumption has become the life goal of most Poles, even though they still think that, ultimately, happiness in life comes through family and pursuing hobbies.This quote is using a strange definition of the word "consumption," one that I have never seen before. Normally, both in economics and colloquial language (and both in English as well as Polish), consumption simply means doing things for their own sake. Whenever you're using a good or pursuing an activity as a goal in itself, and not as a means to some end, that's consumption. Which means that taking care of one's family or pursuing one's hobbies is consumption too. And, naturally, consumption is the ultimate goal in life (in fact, the only goal in life)--by definition.
Unless of course you're using a different definition, which sociologists (maybe just Polish sociologists) seem to. The quote appears to be making a distinction between using material goods (which is called consumption) and seeking non-material goals (which is presumably called something else, though we don't know exactly what). Now I know that criticizing a definition isn't really a terribly constructive activity. So long as you're coherent, you can define your terms any which way you please. But why would you? The "material vs. non-material" distinction is conceptually completely useless.
My inclination here is that the author means "consumption" pejoratively for the sake of consumption--or, IOW, for material gain only. The implied judgment being that many Poles (as opposed to a the GOLDEN TIME of yesteryear), now focus too much on simple accumulation of stuff, to the exclusion and detriment of "the opposing and fully exclusive world" of developing families and hobbies on their own. Further, it seems that the author is upset with the development of the attitude itself, and probably has some personal attachment to his own lost wonder years, where his own familial development was at a peak and working for material gains was never central....
ReplyDeleteFrom Wiki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumption_%28economics%29): "Current theories investigate the role of economic and cultural factors in constraining consumption (Bourdieu), as development of an approach that sees consumers as 'victims' of producers and their social situation."
So, the use of the distinction is apparently to demarcate those seeking fuller lives vs. those that seek shallow inanities, but who somehow have more control over everyday life than the former. Obviously, the truth is being subverted and we must strike up with full force against these alien values to re-establish natural peace and harmony.