Productive Work and the Accumulation of Wealth

What are the consequences for our everyday definitions of success of the following quote from Veblen: "Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth"

I begin my answer of this question by conveying my assumptions that my understanding of human perception of productivity is different from Veblen. In order to agree with Veblen, I would have to assume that people are basically narcissistic and are in need of getting attention and acclaim for their lifestyle. Since I do not believe that Veblen's underlying premise is correct, I can only surmise that his view of society would lead to the conclusion that people would not care about saving money and would spend money at all costs to "keep up with the Joneses." However, Veblen might also suggest that the accumulation of wealth could be displayed at a later time, like retirement, with everybody knowing all the details of someone's whereabouts.

What are the benefits that result from working? The result is a sustained lifestyle for themselves and their families comprised of mainly food and shelter. Any remaining income that remains after these necessary expenditures are made could be used for things that bring readily accessible gratification to the person possessing the money. However, people cannot help but think about their plans for the future. From personal interactions with people who are no longer in school but are in the work force, the common goal among them is to eventually retire. This does not mean that these people dislike what they do, but it does reflect an idea that the individual should usher in a later stage of life that involves freed-up time to engage in additional leisurely activities. "'Leisure'... does not connote indolence or quiescence," (Veblen 33). I use the word "additional" in the previous sentence, because I think one can make time to engage in activities that are not productive in one's spare time. While people can use their wages (or borrowed money) to flaunt how successful they are in experiencing what it means to accumulate wealth through the purchase of any sort of widget, I do not think this is a primary motivation on the part of people. I believe it would be more advantageous to have people save their money for the long-term goal of retirement than to spend an entire paycheck on things that can only bring short-term gratification. While some might try to say that retirement could be a sign of wealth that could be flaunted, I believe that there are many (such as myself) who would prefer to retire without disclosing their friends and former co-workers every detail of their actions. This is the reason that I, up to now, do not have Facebook. I prefer the face-to-face interactions that I have with people while in an environment of academia. Using Veblen's model to make predictions, I would think that those who save their money for retirement would use it for the intended purpose but with a big announcement to everyone they know what they plan to do while retired and then give frequent updates once retired on how the new way of life is going.

Veblen, Thorstein. Ed. Martha Banton The Theory of the Leisure Class. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print.

-- Brad Sica

So much for the invidious distinction

In one chapter of the book "The Theory of Leisure Class," Vablen briefly summarised how pecuniary accumulation came to be the index of one's esteem. In a predatory environment possessions were symbols of one groups environmental fitness over another, and then it came to symbolise the rulers' superiority. An the society move from predatory to industrial, opportunities for individuals were open and now the accumulation of wealth becomes the basis of one's esteem not only for the self, but for the community. It's not about sustenance anymore, as research shows happiness does not increase proportionally with the accumulation of wealth, but instead establishing one's superiority by displaying that one has "more."

I came across this news earlier, and interesting enough this properly illustrated the consequences of such paradigm, in the face of economic crisis. This article mentioned how after the recession luxury cars were left all over the Dubai, whose owners, unable to sustain the extravagant lifestyle in the earlier boom, defaulted on loans, abandoned their possessions, and fled the country. Not surprisingly, a large proportion of abandoned vehicles were left in the airport parking lot, as the owners typically drove to the airport as fast as they could, before the law is able to catch them, and catch the first flight home, leaving behind them the luxurious possessions. This example serves as the most recent consequence of such social paradigm, and, would perhaps lead to more complicated social chaos.

I Wanna Be A Billionaire So Frickin' Bad...

I guess its a part of human nature to always want to improve your life. However, in the 21st century, it's no longer good enough to have a roof over your head and food on your table. If you want to be successful, your roof ought to have 5 extra rooms under it- one for the television, one for the children, one for your office, one for your pool table, and one just because you want an extra room- and your table must be furnished with Tiffany's newest set. Every aspect of our lives have become centered around making money.   When you turn on the television, you see that the Desperate House Wives of Laguna Beach have moved to Jersey Shore in hopes of joining the Bad Girls Club because they Want To Be Millionaires. Every show is a get rich quick scheme. Even on the wholesome channel of Food Network you no longer have to go through years of training to become a culinary artist. Now, you just have to be able to create the best meal out of the worst ingredients under the toughest time constraints.
I remember a discussion a group of my high school classmates and I were having right before we graduated. We were discussing how corrupt business had become. What disappointed me the most was that many of them acknowledged that the business men's actions were corrupt, but they believed that their motive was justified by the means. One girl argued that she can not be happy in life helping those less fortunate than her if it prevented her from augmenting her bank account. For me, as long as I have my basic needs, I'm fine. Of course if I get the chance to get something extra I will; however, I would not throw someone under the bus so that I could stand on top.
Even in terms of education, its all about money. The more you pay for your education, the more money you'll make. When I was telling my teachers about my decision to go to Andrews University, many of them were disappointed. Many of them thought that I should accept Brown University's offer, despite the $120,000 debt I would be in after graduation, because my high paying job would pay off my loans in a few years.
Living in this mindset of needing more money and letting the world know that you have money, tears communities apart. For instance, on the show Gossip Girl, Blair is willing to compromise her friendship with her best friend in order to remain the Queen-B in the group. These affects can also be seen in the news. Bernie Madoff stole millions of dollars from people to improve his lavished life style. In turn, this caused some people to commit suicide because they felt their life had reached its lowest point because they no longer had money. Even in the recent oil spill, the underhanded actions of BP led to faulty oil mines being built and millions of gallons of oil to disrupt the homes of natures finest.
No one ever wants to feel as if he or she is not good enough. So when a society builds its values on how much money you have, people move their focus from the community to self. Everyone ends up singing "I wanna be a billionaire, so frickin bad..." and doing all they can to fulfill that dream.

iSucceed

Why is it that as one gets older, the definition of success changes? As a child, success can be defined as eating all the vegetables of of your plate. As one gets older, success begins to mean different things, until one becomes an adult, and society's view of success takes over. For the most part, society considers success to be synonymous with wealth. If one has the most money, and the most possessions, then that person is successful. How many times have you ever walked by a trailer park and said to yourself, "The people living in those trailers must be very successful." Now, is there anything wrong with living in a trailer? Of course not. In fact, most people living in trailer parks are probably content with their life and not struggling in any fashion whatsoever; however, society would assume that if you are successful, you shouldn't be living in a trailer park. For some reason, the postmodern world has broken away from its normally subjective stance and developed and objective view of the idea of success. I am surprised that at this point in our society, we have not developed an app for measuring how successful of a life we lead. All you would have to do is enter your annual income, and iSucceed would tell who how successful you are on the success scale.

While I am very opposed to the idea of success as defined by society, it is interesting how drawn I am to meeting that definition. As much as I hate to admit, I want to be successful in society's eyes. Now, of course that is just a result of human nature, but nonetheless, my feelings remain. It is a trap that everyone falls into at some point in time. People wish to be accepted in others eyes, and they believe that the way to obtain acceptance is through wealth and possessions. I believe this mentality needs to change, unfortunately it never will. I challenge someone to give me a solution to this problem. It is IMPOSSIBLE to change the mentality of an entire world. It is sad, but true. Even if a solution could be found, it would never catch on.

Its ridiculous to measure success primarily off of wealth and possessions. Success is something that varies from person to person. Success for me is living a life in which I am satisfied with what I surround myself with. If I am happy with my job, I have a family which I love, few financial struggles, I can say I am successful. Wealth has very little to do with how successful I become. Of course, it is impossible to eliminate wealth from the equation, but it certainly should not have as strong of a weight. In the end, success is about satisfaction. If one is satisfied with where they are at in their life, in respect to where they have come, then that person can is a success in my book.

Success and Self-Worth

Recently, I confessed to my mother that I don’t know if I want to go to med-school anymore. She panicked and asked me about my “plan B”. I told her that I would love to continue my education, go to graduate school for art, and pursue a career in the creative field. She broke into a frenzied slew of questions: “You need to choose a successful career, one that adds to society. How will you afford nice things? I gave you a better life than I had, so now it’s your turn to do the same for your children. How will you afford to send them to Adventist schools?” I wavered in my thought-process and wondered if I would be a loser forever if I didn't go to med-school, get my luxury condo and matching car. I decided my self-esteem would survive if the foundations of my success were fulfillment, happiness, and the luxury of spending time with my loved ones. Then, I tuned her out and thought about the life my parents had given to me. It was wonderful, yes, and the summer vacations were nice, but what about how she worked long hard nights as a registered nurse in order to afford “the best”? Why didn’t she criticize my father’s career? As a pastor, he makes a pile of beans each paycheck. Why was his job honorable despite the lack of monetary success?

You see, success is a tricky thing. Our American society tells us that it’s not just the things we have, but it is who sees them that’s important. Success is also the status that you achieve. So much of our society’s values come from ephemeral, material, status-building things—both tangible and intangible. The job you land, the car you buy, the house you live in and the area in which it’s located, your annual income, the size of your disposable income—it’s all crucially important, says our society. According to Veblen, pecuniary strength is directly related to success, which is fundamental to a person’s self-esteem. For my parents, pecuniary strength comes from a good education, and an honorable career choice that allows you to provide a comfortable lifestyle where you can have “the best” of everything. The best being: luxury cars, safe neighborhoods with active homeowner associations, and cruises in the summer.

So I ask myself, where is our concept of self-worth and success? It very well may be in the things we own and how wealthy we feel.

The Role of Public Success in Society

In his book The Theory of the Leisure Class, Thorstein Veblen writes the following:  “Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more credible showing of accumulated wealth” (pg 34).  To put this in modern language, meaningful work is that which builds visible wealth.  This prevalent concept of success has consequences, both good and bad.  One of the positive results can be an increased motivation to work.  This is shown in that over the course of history as man has invented more efficient means to accomplish time-consuming tasks, society has continued to work just as hard, if not harder.  This reflects the above concept of success and the work drive that it leads to.  Work is elevated in importance because it provides a means to become rich, and visible wealth is equated to success because it is something tangible that even one’s enemies can’t refute.  This concept of success can then have positive results if it supplies a lazy person with motivation to work. 

In investigating the personal consequences of this definition of success, I want to consider the implications of the need for the wealth to be visible.  In today’s society, it is possible to buy expensive items on credit.  This means that people can live a lifestyle that suggests that they are rich, even though they don’t really possess as much wealth as it appears. They can drive fancy cars, go on exotic vacations, live in luxurious houses, all without owning any of it because it is all on credit.  To the observer, they are rich, and therefore, they are successful.  However, the individual knows that it is all a charade.  They are being crushed by the debt that is to their name, knowing that at some point it will catch up to them. 

This way of living doesn’t result in satisfaction, but rather in worry and stress.  And once one has bought into this concept of success, it is hard to find a way out.  Peer pressure to “stay on top” so to speak leads to extreme competition.  As material wealth becomes the basis for one’s value, his or her identity and self-worth become unstable because the standard for wealth is always in flux.  Success then becomes relative to everyone else’s levels of success as measured by visible wealth.  The consequences of this selfish mindset are manifested in families and communities, which suffer because each individual values him or herself above the community.

So how do we manage to keep the positive corollary to this definition of success, such as industriousness, while rejecting the negative repercussions on the individual, family, and community?  I propose that we both modify our definition of success and that we stop deriving our value from success because as long as we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, we will never consider ourselves truly successful.  We all fail at some point in our lives, but we don’t have to choose to let that failure define who we are, but that is most often the result when we allow success to define who we are. 

Displaying Wealth

The measure of success is not by the wealth a person has accumulated, but by the display of that wealth. Displaying wealth has become rather an art. It needs to be subtle, yet obvious enough to show that what you have is better. Also you need to be consistent in your displaying of wealth. You need to buy right things at right time. Otherwise, you become a source of criticism or even worse, a laughingstock. A lady who bought a dress that is out of fashion will not likely be envied no matter how expensive that dress was. As it is apparent, displaying wealth takes a considerable effort. We often read about ridiculous and unnecessarily expensive items and people who are stupid enough to buy them. Here I’m talking about things such as a million dollar hello kitty doll covered in diamonds that does nothing. We can all point finger at people like that and make fun of them, but displaying wealth in such way has bigger social consequences. If you ask children to draw an image of successful person, they will probably draw a guy in suit with a nice car and a big house. Why isn’t that we don’t associate successful life with happy family in a modestly sized home? Why is our notion of successful life depended upon wealth?
This idea of success seems to be the driving force in today’s society. Our society needs people to be envious. We need people to build new things, buy new things, and want better things. Therefore in order to encourage spending, companies bombard us with the images of superfluous lifestyle. The obvious down side is that it makes people generally unsatisfied and unhappy. People work hard and spend more time working to get there, but less on enjoying life.
By accumulating wealth, people want to increase their value, and feel good about themselves for what they’ve accumulated. Many people base their self value in comparison with their neighbors. If I live in a bigger house, I must be making more money than my neighbors, and therefore more valuable than them. The easiest and the cruelest way to assess a person is by his appearance. These hints do give some information about a person’s status, but nothing about a person standing when everything else is removed from him.
We have hard time accepting that we are all humans. We can easily equate ourselves with people who seem to be better off than us. But it is difficult to think that I and a drug addict on the street are both children of God. It is unlikely that people will stop judging others by wealth, and focus their lives on other aspects of life. I also don’t think it can be changed because it is so deeply rooted in human selfishness and the desire to be superior. Real changing of heart and desire can only be accomplished by the grace of God.

I'm so paid

When I was a kid I remember trying to sort out all of the why's. I wanted to know why I had to wake up at six o'clock every day, make a lunch, and carpool to school. I wanted to know why it mattered that I went to school. "You go to school," adults told me, "so you can go to middle school and then high school and then, if you have good grades, you can go to college." College? Oh, there's a reason for that too. College, of course, is for gaining an education that will allow you to get into graduate school. And graduate school is supposed to help you get a "good" job. Why do I need a job? Oh, so you can earn enough money to buy the big house in the cul-de-sac and have a dog and a spouse and three kids and a minivan. So that those kids can go to school and get jobs and get dogs and minivans. It all just seemed so circular to me then. And, sometimes, it does now too.

I'm not trying to say that we're all wasting our time here, and that educating ourselves in order to secure decent jobs in order to live comfortably is totally ridiculous. But it begins to sound a little stale. If I drop out of college today and move into my parents' garage, society will most likely label me a failure. But if I finish my degree and land a really great job that pays so well that I am able to buy every new piece of Apple technology as it becomes available and vacation in Barbados every couple years, I will be successful. I will be successful because I have the ability to buy things I want. But what if I do move into my parents' garage and don't have a job to support my spending habit? No big deal. Just get a credit card. Or two. With credit, I can maintain all appearances of success when I'm around my friends: I can drive a cute new car and buy $5 lattes at Starbucks every day. This culture of consumerism has become so much a part of the American Dream that we seem to value stuff more than people. The other extreme would be if I did get that incredible job, but I worked so much in order to advance my position in the company that I never had time for people. In that case, I would appear successful, driving around in that cute car that I can afford, but at what cost? Would I be happy? Does happiness matter?

Success or nothing

Ask yourself all of the things you wish to have, and calculate the bill. I think its fair to assume that your bill is over one million dollars without the addition of gratuity yet. Every time we turn on our television or look at our browser homepage there is a new product on the market that usually requires us to extend beyond our budgets to purchase them. If you travel backward, from primary school days I'm sure many may recall playing the game MASH which everyone wanted their luck to fall on "M" which meant that they would live in a mansion; house (H) was satisfying however landing on the "S' was never an option as it meant you would reside in a shack. Fast forward a little to high school when it was time to explore career options. Often times, speaking from personal experiences, we disregard our passion for practicality. For example, many young Bahamians would disregard the desire to study art or social work in college because these are the careers that are not "successful." Of course by successful, we simply imply that they do not achieve the net six figure salary that is needed to acquire the house, much less the mansion. Therefore, one consequence of success' definition today is the deterrence it becomes to pursuing true passions in careers.

As humans we seem to have an ever growing void that increases because we try to fill it in with the world. With this is mind, doesn't the definition of success tend to shift as we draw closer to its previous definition? One of today's most popular rappers, Drake, hit song entitled "Successful" brings one of the clearest definitions possible. He plainly states "I want the money, money and the cars, cars and the clothes, I suppose, I just wanna be... successful." On that note material possessions now become the next method by which we gauge success. But at what cost to ourselves and those around us? We are no longer satisfied by a car that takes us from point A to point B without being killed by excess carbon monoxide or hypothermia. Sincere apologies to the poor chap who did not realize that we live in an era in which our cars must be voice automated, able to make phone calls and change the song currently playing through the stereo. Do not mistake me for believing that we should not enjoy the "finer things in life" however, are they really necessary? Why should the car we drive determine our level of success rather than the difference we made in the life of another human being? We have become so success driven that we have been blinded to one of the essential messages throughout Jesus' entire ministry. I say this especially because we as Seventh Day Adventists, more often than not, read the same dictionary in the library of the world than we would wish to admit. Nevertheless, we have become selfish and inconsiderate people subconsciously. Although we may not be the primary cause behind poverty and hunger in our societies, we must ask ourselves when was the last time we tried to assist in its alleviation.

In the terrible plot written film of 2009 "Drag me to Hell," a young bank worker had the option to extend the mortgage period for a single elderly woman or reject the extension, save the bank excess money and be promoted to assistant branch manager. The decision she made is quite obvious from the film's title as she was cursed and the movie goes on. More importantly, this is a blatant example of what I find to be the most prevalent consequence of today's definition of success and namely its correspondence with wealth as Veblen describes. This situation may seem similar to making the choice between purchasing a new purse to add to your collection or purchasing can goods to donate to the local salvation army. However, the difference comes in the fact that even when we are given an obvious chance to help someone else we do what we assume is best for our own preservation. But what are we really preserving other than our greed and materialism? In other words, because we want to be, as Drake said, "successful" there is no other alternative in life than to do just that. It is quite alarming when we begin to ponder about our very own ideas about success and realize that we may be leaning towards the very same things we claim as Christians to despise. Honestly, who wants nothing when they can have success? :/

True Success

During out reading of Veblen over the past couple of weeks I have been struck with how closely he describes the society we live in today. We are driven by money. Much of the world is completely engrossed in accumulating more and more “stuff” so that they can be happy. However, as we talked about earlier in McKibben happiness does not seem to come, at least statistically, from money. So why do we keep pursuing it? If we have our basic needs met why do we need more? I believe that one of the reasons is due to our self worth. If we do not feel satisfied with ourselves then we think that accumulating money and material possessions will help us feel more confident and successful. I have seen this phenomenon occur in myself and in those around me. During my teenage years I felt insecure and as a result of those feelings tried to fit in with my peers. One of my worst fears was that I would be classified as “different” or “unique”. In order to avoid this fear I tried to fit in by purchasing specific types of clothes. However, I soon realized that this did not increase my success or my self worth. I, like many others, fell into the trap that Veblen talks about in his book—invidious consumption.

One of the consequences of falling into this trap is that it rarely brings true success or self worth. This is due to the fact that there is always something better, newer, or greater that can be attained. Society claims that the more wealth you attain the more successful you become. However, I believe that this can lead to dire consequences. If you use this mantra as the backbone of your life, God is unnecessary. In fact, his principles for success seem to go against those held closely by the world. The principles of kindness, gentleness, and self-control all differ from what many hold as principles vital to success. Instead the world says to work hard, play hard, sleep less, and be kind to only those who help increase your wealth. These principles have been shown to increase wealth but are they purposeful effort? Do they make you feel more successful? I do not believe they do. In contrast, I feel that purposeful effort and success come from doing things for others. As a volunteer at Andrews University Outreach I have found that success does not come from your net worth. Instead, it comes from doing things for people in your community. Thinking about some of the “pillars” in our word’s history I can name several that had little net worth but great success. Mother Teresa lacked wealth but if you were to ask the people she served they would tell you of her success. Martin Luther King Jr. also lacked wealth but the civil rights movement he started is still a success today. I believe that these examples help remind me that success comes from helping others and promoting a cause worth living for. If our society would take this principle to heart I feel that more people would attain true success from their efforts and avoid the trap of invidious consumption.

Success vs. Success

We pray that God will lead us to influence someone's life, and in reality, we all affect those around us without even knowing it.  The roll of peers in each others' lives has increased profoundly; our mentality success is no longer tabulated against the standards of one's own personal best, but has shifted to the values of those around us.  When Veblen says we want to result "in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth," he is cutting to the chase on the inner most desires that each individual will face, and then will choose whether to follow or take another path.  Success is now known as a destination, not the journey.  There are many individuals who would immediately back away from their hard work and effort if they were informed that all the "creditable showing" waiting at the end would not be there.  No matter how nice or naive a person may seem, everyone has that streak within them to desire acknowledgment or recognition for something.  

One of the consequences I thought of from Veblen's definition of success can be found today.  We are already seeing the effects of this mentality: people are losing trust within one another.  Technology, knowledge, and more avenues of ranking has catapulted our society into a "competitive war."  From advertisements to slogans, all have the same underlying theme that bigger/more is better!  We will begin to lose the significant value in the individual if we keep trying to compare the individual to the community.  Everything starts to be labeled black and white, yours or mine, and the spirit of unity and teamwork so prevalently displayed in history's stories will begin to fade until our society becomes "every-man-for-himself."  

Personally, I don't think it is bad to aim for success even when one knows the "creditable showings" that will come out of it; I feel that what brings the sense of nobility is if an individual would be willing to put another individual above himself, if it means otherwise having to "step on him."  Moral tests for cases like this don't come around too often, but when they do, it is so easy to see different individuals mentality on their approach to success.

Filling the Void

The concept that ‘purposeful effort’ means working towards more wealth really describes the human condition quite well. This is true assuming we don’t hold a terribly tight definition on wealth, but think of it as more than what I had earlier or more than he or she has. This loose definition of wealth is really at the crux of most activities.

I try to live my life to make a positive difference in the world and help other people. If I tell myself that this is the only reason I am loosing sleep to finish up all that work, I am not being entirely truthful. In reality, a lot of what I do, and I would guess the majority of Americans, is aimed at making myself look and/or feel better, or to bring pleasure to my living experience. If through this I can improve the lives of other people it comes as an added bonus. Although I may not be explicitly flaunting the things I have in what I do, the underlying reason, although several rationales distant, can often be brought back to a prime objective of ‘make me better’. So we then ask, “How do I make myself better? With this question we start looking for answers. The world provides so many options that we get lost in trying them all. The bible is possibly the greatest positive source at showing us that there is much more beyond the present state of being. This sort of longing for more I believe is wired into human nature. God programmed us to long for Him.

The problem that so much of the world faces is that they long for God, but substitute other gods/things which are not capable of fulfilling the longing. Thus we need more in our attempt to fill the void that only God can fill.

Where we are wired with this longing, it is natural that we purpose to fill the void with the wrong things, namely stuff and material wealth. Global economies and marketing departments help by providing all sorts of things to throw into this void. None of these solutions lasts, since filling a void that an infinite God fits in, is impossible without that God.

I realize that this idea may not directly address the topic from the perspective that Veblen wished. It does, I believe, help me see why people who really know Jesus and have God in their hearts seem to be really happy and satisfied people even though they don’t have much stuff. If the ‘God void’ in one’s life actually has God, then one can stop trying to satisfy the void and look around at others and genuinely help them out. On the other hand though, if there is a gaping hole in one’s life, most of one’s purposeful effort will be directed at filling the hole, which usually amounts to ‘a more credible showing of accumulated wealth’ just as Veblen said.

What Does Your Measuring Stick Look Like?

Whether it be monetary wealth, wealth of intelligence and knowledge, wealth of friends and family or wealth in leisure, abundance is our measuring stick for success. It's a cycle that never ends, sucking in everyone and everything along its path. As a part of today's society, everyone of us longs to be successful and every time we think we've reached success, someone else trumps us, putting us back into the race to fight some more only to be disappointed all over again. We are aware of the consequences of our actions and the likelihood that we will never be the best or the most of anything, but we continue on through the blood, sweat and tears.

Why then is it so hard for us to give up? Why is it so unpopular to sit back, relax, let it go and measure our success by other standards?

In the Christian life we are asked to think in the opposite direction. Christ directs us to go against the grain, to not conform to the ways of the world and to not adapt to their ways of thinking, all of which seem to point towards a hopeless cause. But it doesn't have to be if our goals are based on other foundations. Success is not abundance in the way that the world refers to it, but an unseen heavenly abundance. When we break out of the worldly cycle, we focus less on ourselves and our achievements and more on Christ and the blessings that we receive from Him, to no credit of our own.

Why then is this seemingly 'easy' plan so difficult to follow? Because as we take a hold of this concept and force our way through the crowd, with every step we are confronted and challenged, told to turn around and go with the flow. But if we turn our eyes upon the one who knows what success truly is, we will get through all of the pushing, shoving and suggesting of others and end up on the other side with something that is immeasurable.

A values centered life, in a world that is constantly measuring us, is one founded on Jesus Christ.

"Getting There"

       Last semester, one of our family friends passed away from pancreatic cancer.  He had just gotten married a few years prior, become a theology professor at Pacific Union College and fathered a beautiful baby boy.  Everything changed, however, when he was told he had less than 4 months to live.  Being a goal-orientated, driven person, I was so bothered by the idea that Dr. Ha was being stripped away from everything he had ever worked for. It just wasn’t fair. What was the point of his life? I thought. Why was his life cut short? He never even got to indulge in his successes. Did his life even serve a purpose?

       Whoa, hold on! Since when did our society (and myself) become so focused on “getting there” that we question the value of an individual’s life based on what he gained or who she became—to the point that our lives are not worthwhile unless we can prove with some tangible items that we are significant?  According to Veblen, success is materialistic; it is something to show off like status, career, wealth, family, leisure, etc. But what happens once you gain everything?  Or, in Dr. Ha’s case, when your life is cut short?  So much of our focus is set on “getting there” and too little emphasis is placed on the days we live in right NOW.  Upon hearing of Dr. Ha’s death, these words ran through my mind: if we don’t enjoy the whole process of being college students, finding someone to marry, becoming career professionals, etc., we still won’t be happy when these dreams come true. We must label our own personal success and not let others manipulate our definitions of a successful life. 

       Life is momentary. So why waste time buying the newest generation Iphone, designing the biggest house on the block, or focusing on other materialistic things to determine our success. We need to be happy with our lives and accomplishments as if we were dying the next day.  Because today is the day we were worrying about yesterday. 

Success that will Last

Veblen's quote, to me,  essentially shows that our value in today's society is determined by the things that we stock up or have the best of.  While this seems shallow, unfortunately, we are the ones who have created this a standard of measuring one's worth.  To evaluate this, I'd like to trace the motives for such behavior back to where they were born.  I feel that our desire to accumulate material things comes from a lack of appreciation for one's inner self.  We feel empty inside because we don't possess all of the good qualities that we would like to.  So, to fill the void, we purchase things to dissolve our unhappiness and drown the areas in which we fall short because that is just the easiest thing to do.  We are too lazy to try to change ourselves into better people, so we buy things to increase our outward status and conceal our inward shortcomings.  If you have the latest gadgets and wear the latest fashion, you are somehow envied even if you are not a very nice person.


The consequences of these warped definitions of success are not difficult to discover.  I am sure anyone can say that the more things one has, the more static one's happiness remains.  In severe cases, one may even become more unhappy because he or she eventually realizes that the money spent has only created clutter.  It is so easy to fall into the trap of consumption.  No one wants to be viewed by other people as unstylish or not cool enough.  But, as Christians, we must remember that Jesus was never the popular one.  Ironically, He has surpassed perfection.  Going by His example, we can see that people's views have nothing to do with our true worth.  Nothing we buy is going to come with us to heaven; if we cannot let go of those things, then we cannot go either.  God is the only one who is able to rightfully pass judgment on us.  His standards are the only ones we should be eager to achieve because His standards are truly attainable...His standards never change.

Less is More

I find, like many others, that this quote portrays a disturbing mentality. This mentality, however, is pervasive throughout the world. While many of us, including myself, believe that there is more to life beyond the number on the bank statement, we find ourselves in the struggle to make more, accumulate more, and show it off more. The word 'more' has become ingrained in our very beings. The country that we live in has become the epitome of this quote. People immigrate to America from other countries with the 'American Dream' fresh in their minds. This the land of opportunity, and opportunity mostly means money.

In his quote, Veblen proposes that the accumulation of money should be the primary goal and the definition of success. Success is now measured by the square footage of a house, the brand that encases your feet, the amount of the down payment for a car, and how many zeros appear on a payment. In our mad scramble to acquire more, or to become more successful, we have lost sight of the things that make successful worthwhile. What is the point of having a large house if there is no one to fill it with? What is the point of a nice car if we have no where to go to? As the saying goes, "Don't judge a book by it's cover". We cannot look at someone and say that they are leading a successful, fulfilled life simply based on their outside, the wrapping of their life. What lies within is what truly matters. Just as there is no purpose in an empty box that is wrapped beautifully, but nonetheless is empty, there is little purpose in a money-driven existence that is void.

This "showing of accumulated wealth" has affected every aspect of our lives, usually in a negative manner, yet we have yet to turn back from this blind pursuit of material happiness. We are told that a certain face cream, a name brand, a car, or some other object will bring us happiness. We trick ourselves into thinking that we will be content once we get that "one last thing", yet find ourselves growing bored with our possessions. Many have sacrificed family, friends, and health to become successful only to find success rather unsatisfying.

The definition of success requires a change before many of the problems that society is facing are going to be fixed. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that having money is a bad thing. There are many things that can only get accomplished with money, but it should not be the focus. Once we can learn to content ourselves with less, we will truly feel as though we have more.

Success for Dummies

According to Veblen success equates nothing more than mere wealth. In this case he is talking about material wealth, or to be simple about things; money. Veblen is implying that success in life is basically having a lot of money. Although money, in my personal opinion, will make life better, and probably more enjoyable, it doesn't serve as the measuring stick of success. I take that back, it shouldn’t serve as success’ measuring stick. Veblen does a good job of describing society today. For people in this day and age, money is success. The problem I find with this idea is that it is limiting. If money is success, does that mean nothing else can make us successful? The Western culture has on one-track mind, so to speak. Our lives are focused around money. When all we strive for is economic success we so easily look past life’s simple successes.

To better illustrate what I’m trying to say I’ll give an example. Let’s say there are two families, the Foster’s and the Lane’s. In the Foster family both parents work full time; the father is a lawyer, mother a financial advisor. They make the big bucks; therefore they are successful, right? Now let’s take a look closer. Jake and Samantha, their two teenaged children, wish they had a family life. Dad is always at work, mom is always too busy. It’s rare to ever even have all four members of the family at home at the same time, and the few times everyone is together an argument or fight of some sort seems to be the entertainment for the night. But this family is successful because they have money, of course. Now let’s look at the Lane family. Mr. Lane lost his job a year ago due to the struggling economy. He has been searching since but he can find nothing. Mrs. Lane struggles to maintain a part-time job as a substitute teacher. Their two children go to school during the day and work at the local Taco Bell most nights just so the family can get by. In Veblen’s opinion, this family is unsuccessful. However, the bond this family has is simply amazing. They have learned to support each other throughout the toughest times, and the atmosphere at home is always warm and loving. Although this family is struggling to keep themselves above the poverty line, they are happy. You tell me, which of these families is truly “successful”? To me the choice is clear. Money is not the measure of success—well, at least not the only one.

-Phil Giddings

Keeping Up With the Joneses

Frankly, I find the quote from Veblen offensive and yet utterly true for the majority of the population. This is an "ought" versus "is" situation and I don't honestly think that society will change simply because a few self-sacrificing individuals decide to break the consumeristic chain.

I think that by living to accumulate "stuff", we lose sight of what is important in life, and ultimately, of the meaning of life in general. This can be seen frequently in our ever-increasingly postmodern society. The idea that accumulated wealth is the only objective which requires purposeful effort requires humans to take their eyes off of themselves and focus on others in a negative way. Instead of achieving some form of self-actualization, we consistently compare ourselves to others (because "enough" isn't enough to live on, "enough" is more than everyone else). This idea of success is pervasive and depressing because the standard is constantly in motion. Culturally, accumulated wealth may be viewed as "success", but I suggest that on the personal level, happiness is a better gauge of "success".  If we are to ever break this cycle of continually "keeping up with the Joneses", we must establish a better measure than "who is the most consumeristic".

I also feel that, for the Christian population, this idea of accumulated wealth is extremely poisonous. Jesus had advised that people not store up treasures for themselves here on earth, but rather to lay up treasure in heaven (corruptible, temporary treasure vs. eternal treasure and happiness). Everyday success should be a measure of how much a person loves, lives, gives, and grows--not how much money they can rake in. Personally, when I think of this, all that truly comes to mind is the Casting Crowns song "American Dreams". The line "who's to say whoever dies with the most toys wins? But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end?" speaks especially to this situation--even if one does not believe in God, it is easy enough to watch prominent businessmen lose their souls to the company they create. What does this actually gain us? Nothing in particular. Brief feelings of self-accomplishment. There must be more to life than that.

Succession Digression

In the Christian background I have grown up in, Veblen's quote seems objectionably "worldly" and narrow-minded, and that's because it really is. Success measured by what "treasures we store on earth" is probably the standard depiction of success in society, at least in our materialistic society. Therefore, his comment really affirms the majority view on the topic of success. Everything that is done, in the eyes of countless individuals, is for the sole purpose of getting more and more as we go along.

This probably won't always take the form of an arrogant individual who buys the latest sports cars, technologies, and lives his life to make some sort of impression on others that he is better than others. This definition influences more normal people as well. A normal person may just buy a car every few years or a new laptop more frequently than they need to. They can't quite afford to do it as frequently as the arrogant guy mentioned before, but the normal girl is driven by the same ideal but operates at a more limited income. Chances are, she wants to do the same thing as the arrogant guy mentioned above but can't, so she does what she can. She doesn't really need the newest iPod, but she gets it because she wants to be the first in her group of friends to have it.

Whatever false sense of superiority is gained by such philosophies and practices, success, I pray, is nothing like Veblen describes it to be. It only reinforces a stereotypical definition that is just waiting to be killed, and most people would be glad to see it go even though the majority may measure success by accumulated treasures. Perhaps our definition of success could be informed by more noble aspirations, such as achieving true happiness and peace in life. That in itself will be a reward far greater reward than the supposed imposter perception of success will ever be.

From the Chicago Tribune: A new urbanist community design.

"According to experts, the pillars of New Urbanism are walkability to home and work, a pedestrian-friendly street design, a mixed use of shops, offices, apartments and various sizes of homes, and high quality architecture and urban design."

Blog Post #3

What are the consequences for our everyday definitions of success of the following quote from Veblen: "Purposeful effort comes to mean, primarily, effort directed to or resulting in a more creditable showing of accumulated wealth"

Due Friday, October 29th.

First Midterm Exam

Three very simple-yet-complicated, multi-layered questions:

1. What idea in Sachs do you find the most important and relevant?  Why? (1 page)
2. What idea in McKibben do you find the most important and relevant?  Why? (1 page)
3. Using your answers to #1 and #2, and whatever process suits you, invent YOUR ideal community. (2-3 pages) Compare that ideal to the reality you see every day. 
1. Need help with the thought and design processes?  See Wikipedia's entry on Design Thinking, for example.