Of capitalism and 'Money'

(Excuse me for the long post)

The generation of our parents, this generation of the 40's and 50's is mostly a generation that experienced a hard time with capitalism and the effort to earn their living. And by that I do not mean that the rate of consumerism was high, yes, people needed to consume, but mostly we'll find that the means of luxury were very, very simple; a gum with less than one piaster, a small ball to play in the streets - if there was balls in the first place.

Money to them meant nothing more than something not very essential, so long as they are blessed with the gift of life and don't need more than their basic needs, which are already there..kind of. Life was simple. People were less of consumerists and more of human beings.
Those are the people who grew up to have the clash with our generation, that of the 80's and 90's. Technology played the essential role for consumerism, first personal computers and phones, then laptops, smartphones, iPods and iPads. Being technology freaks was the companies' aim to rise with consumerism and the abuse of simple minds. You accepted it, I accepted it, we all did, unwittingly and defeated. It has become essential to use technology to be able to keep one's pace with the world, and even with work, which is the main capitalistic world, you cannot have a job without "Computer skills", and anything of that sort.

Back to parents and us: what I want to say here (Don't mind that I usually go off track and forget my main points!) is that this non-consumerist generation-our parents-has become, to us, some sort of tight-fisted society, while to us consumerism means to keep yourself updated with the rest of the world.
We are the money wasters and they are the tight-fisted. And nothing comes in between to pacify or save this gap.

What Capitalism does here, other than enslavement, is that it indirectly or even directly broadens this gap between us, and inside the same generation of ours. We're not equal, basic life needs to us are not basic life needs to our parents or to the poor. The more money we got, the bigger these basics are, and the bigger the basics are, the less aware we are of the poor. That's what Capitalism wants. That's what the governments want. And that's how exactly it is going.

I'm currently reading-almost done though-"Utopia" for Ahmed Khaled Tawfiq, and despite the fact that this novel is way more disgusting that I thought, and way darker than I imagined (I really had struggles at the middle and even thought of not finishing it), the novel describes exactly the course of the present into the future. I can't say nor want to believe it will be really like that, but after all the rich are already building their own colonies, the poor is dying yet still want to believe one of this new generation will revolt and save the planet. And we all wait.

On a final note, I loudly admit I'm an iPhone user and I'm a consumerist like we all are. But the point is to not dwell and to spend some time in being humans rather than money-wasters.
Think about it.

3 comments:

ibhog | November 11, 2011 at 1:38 AM

I believe in Egypt it's worse than many other countries. This society has a glitch, a complex, and it's awful. Go to the nearest big mall and watch.

I only spent like three weeks abroad (besides a childhood in KSA) to make this note; outside, people don't have this gap. They don't eye each other in the way it takes place here, and in the way that led to this miserable gap.

It might happen, but still, it would never amount to how bad it is in Egypt. I think.

Imagine that you and your family somehow moved and lived abroad; I think this gap will be much pacified.

Nema | November 11, 2011 at 1:45 AM

I believe so too. However, boss, the gap abroad might not be as it is here, but I think it's a relative thing. Because people there are extremely rich, yet the poor can still eat but for example don't have air conditioners that's all (from what I saw in UAE at least).

And I totally agree on eying each other, it's like a race, who consumes more is the winner. Rabena yesle7 a7walna insha'allah ..

ibhog | November 11, 2011 at 2:02 AM

I have seen the two samples in Egypt: rich people who used to live abroad, and rich Egyptians. They're 'very' different.

I was astounded yesterday when I was in the mall of Arabia (it was my first visit). The people there seem to come from a different breed than those at City Stars for example. They have an air of humility to them, of poise, of 'Mal 7alal'!! I know this word is dangerous, but this is how I felt sub7an allah!

I'm not generalizing of course, I'm just stating an observation.

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