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Sign up with Google Sign up with FacebookQ: Will materialism in China ever decrease?
I've a few Chinese friends who can't stand all the showing off and brand names etc, though when I go to the nearest shopping mall my hopes for China becoming less shallow are instantly squashed by throngs of gucci handbags and UGG boots.
I know it's not only China, developed countries like Japan and S. Korea are also pretty materialistic and "face" based societies, maybe it's an Asian thing.
Any signs of this slowing down though you reckon? Or are the Chinese still into flashing their new found wealth.
Nope, it'll never stop. The face-driven need to outshine others has only just begun.
Only when debts are recalled en masse will the facade of Chinese greed/avarice/pride/face crumble.
It's the real side of 'face' now... show off the bling, to show everyone how great you are...
Will materialism ever decrease, full-stop? Nope, because we are living in a material world. And I am a material girl. Wait there. What?
Yes, it ends a couple of days after the financial bubble burst. Some optimists will try to extend it, only to secure themselves an even harder crash landing.
We have to ask ourselves who taught people to become materialists and face-based.... isn't that Hollywood?
crimochina:
your full of it, china has had these problems long before western countries existed
People are naturally attracted to new shiny things that can make them happy for that short time. God created Life and man/woman created everything else..
Actually, I'd really suggest after the next revolution....
Can you imagine how much money you would save if you limited yourself to things that came out 5 years ago? Buy clothes that match you rather than trying to attach yourself to someone else's sense of 'personality-through-fashion' and you will look much better for cheaper. Get a 5 year old car, a 5 year old house, TV, phone, etc. Was your life so terrible 5 years ago?
The constant struggle to get the latest fashions is absolutely absurd once you compare the prices. Take a look at the clothing that Charlton Heston or Humphrey Bogart or Sean Connery's "James Bond" wore back in the day- Did they need Armani or Calvin Klein? No. The man made the fashion, not the other way around. Chasing brands is an impotent attempt by the feeble minded to replicate something they are incapable of possessing: style.
Scandinavian:
I already have what seems like a 5 year old internet connection :)
Yes or no,I have a friend who is very into these stuff and she's rich as she married a rich old man. other friends they seem like me,We are into nice stuff with decent price.
if I am so rich one day,I will probably buy myself a LV bag ,who knows
Scandinavian:
Instead of buying a LV bag, why not put one RMB in the pot of each homeless person you meet for the rest of your life. I am sure that would give you more value in life
maggiegirly:
Look,i just said"IF" I am so rich one day,I will"probably" buy myself a LV bag.
In 2008 During Sichuan earthquake,I have donated a lot of my old clothes and some money to people there and I am still trying to donate more stuff.
I used to give money to these homeless people I saw in the street ,but once I saw a homeless woman I gave her money in the morning, she moved to somewhere else in the afternoon and I saw her drinking milk tea with someone in a shop.Not a homeless person at all.since then ,I stop giving money to homeless people except he or she does some work (like sing a song )to earn money.
Amonk:
My Dad taught me never to give money to a homeless person. Even if they are legitimately homeless they're likely to spend it on alcohol or cigarettes. If you want to help someone, buy them some sort of food and water or cheap clothes (so they won't sell them). If they accept graciously then you know you've done a good thing. If they decline and ask for money, they don't deserve your charity.