Get SR free in your inbox twice a week
Click here
Carol Craig is the chief executive of the Centre for Confidence and Well-being, an organisation which aims to encourage social and cultural change in Scotland. Her latest book, ‘The Great Takeover’ (subtitled ‘How materialism, the media and markets now dominate our lives’), follows on from the success of ‘The Scots’ Crisis of Confidence’ (2003) and ‘The Tears that Made the Clyde’ (2010).
Taken together, these works present an interesting challenge to the self-image of Scottish people, posing hard questions about health, crime, work, education and inequality. A particular strength is that they are inter-disciplinary in character, drawing on evidence from history, politics, literature, psychology and sociology.
The latest book provides a short and accessible analysis of powerful influences that shape our lives. Craig defines materialism as ‘the pursuit of money and what it can buy, a focus on appearance and image and an emphasis on fame and power’. She does not deny that, when compared to the experience of earlier generations, increases in income and the availability of a wide range of consumer goods have brought benefits for many people. But she argues that materialism has become so dominant that it leads to unbalanced and unfulfilling lives, evident in the accumulation of personal debt, the reliance on drink and anti-depressant drugs, and the endless pursuit of signs of conspicuous consumption.
She also draws attention to the preoccupation which many young (and not so young) people have with body image, the popularity of various forms of cosmetic surgery, and the impossibility of ever reaching the ‘ideals’ featured in advertising and media representations. Creating endless dissatisfaction is, in fact, an essential ingredient of the commercial world, ensuring a market for new products that seem to promise something better, more desirable and stylish. The shelf-life of new products has to be limited so that the next cycle of consumer aspiration can be started. This suggests that the ritual incantation of economic ‘growth’, so eagerly trotted out by politicians of all hues, needs to be subject to critical interrogation.
Although the book is not specifically about Scotland, it does point out that the central belt (if not some of the remoter rural areas) is as materialistic as the rest of the UK. Craig observes that while Glasgow was once world-famous for what it produced and the skills of its workforce, now it is sold internationally as a centre of style and shopping – a style that ‘is rarely designed or produced in the city’. She sees a link between these preoccupations and rising levels of depression and mental illness, arguing that materialism undermines people’s sense of themselves, their relationships with others and their sense of community. Psychological studies support the notion that increases in the possession of material goods bring about no significant gain in psychological well-being. Attempts to develop ‘self-esteem’ through the possession of high-status designer goods, merely produces a form of narcissism, a recognised personality disorder.
Television is another target of Craig’s critique. It is not just that it is a major vehicle for advertising, encouraging envious social comparison and unrealistic aspiration. Viewing figures indicate that people spend an average of four hours every day in front of a TV screen, with many youngsters watching television before school, during meals and prior to sleep. The activity is both addictive and passive, discouraging other forms of behaviour (eg taking part in sporting or community events): it can adversely affect ‘metabolism, mood, sleep and health’. Other forms of technology, such as computers or mobile phones, reinforce the social disengagement which TV represents.
The later parts of the book explore a number of important issues: the relationship between materialism and inequality, particularly at a time when the gap between the rich and the poor has been widening; the effect on family life when commercialisation pushes children in the direction of brand envy, early sexualisation and the adoption of celebrities as role models; the consequences of ‘turbo capitalism’ for conceptions of morality. On this last point, it is suggested that the first response of politicians is no longer to ask whether a new policy proposal is good, fair or just: self-interest, success and money now matter more than integrity, justice or equality.
How far is it possible to resist the tide of materialism that Craig describes? The forces at work are very powerful and are unlikely to change direction of their own volition. It is possible for some individuals to make a conscious decision to watch less television, to give greater priority to family life, to take more physical exercise and to pursue learning for its own sake.
Some may even choose ‘downsizing’, opting out of the rat race and putting a sense of well-being above material success. But that will have a limited impact on the majority, who will continue to be subject to strong conformist pressures from those who live by commercial exploitation.
The public institutions which in the past might have served as agents of resistance (government, the press, the professions) have themselves been fatally compromised by the excesses of materialism: people have ceased to trust them as guides to what really matters. It was even reported recently that some of the top universities are considering launching themselves on the stock market, as a way of generating more income. The transformation of knowledge from a public good to just another commodity would mean that the scope for casting light on those values that are contaminating society will be further diminished.
Walter Humes held professorships at the universities of Aberdeen, Strathclyde and West of Scotland and is now a visiting professor
of education at the University of Stirling
website design by Big Blue Dogwebsite development by NSD Web