Especially when more and more businesses are talking about rational consumption, then we have to ask what is "rationality". What can be called "rational consumption"?
Some people say that houses are rational consumption, because houses have investment value and use value. Some people say that suits are rational consumption, because suits belong to the standard of professionals and are the faces of social people who walk outside. Others say that online courses, self-study textbooks and various cultural reading materials are rational consumption. Because he has increased people's knowledge and enriched their brains, which is of great benefit to his later life.
Obviously, different people think that rational consumption refers to different commodities. But they all mean the same thing: in their view, this is not ordinary consumption, but "necessary investment"
Different businesses focus on how to market and bind the concepts of "necessity" and "rationality". For example, in the eyes of women-dominated businesses, all kinds of cosmetics with high prices belong to "rational consumption". Their reason is that makeup is an investment in themselves, a basic social etiquette, and a competitive bargaining chip, whether it is job hunting, business, or catching a rich man. If a woman does not choose cosmetics carefully, she will soon be defeated by other competitors and regret it for life. For men, there is a simpler catchy slogan: "Choose a good house years ago and marry a mother-in-law".
At the same time, in order to reduce their guilt of spending money, they will say that this is not ordinary consumption, but rational consumption and investment. By analogy, buying a house has become an investment in love and marriage, makeup is an investment in women's value, giving children various classes is an investment in their future, buying online courses and learning new languages is an investment in career development, fitness is an investment in their own health, and social animals regard reading Ma Yun's autobiography and Luo Ji's thinking as an investment in financial freedom. Just like Gu Jia in Thirty, when she went out to buy designer bags in order to mix with the upper class, it seemed to her that it was also an investment in contacts. What is clearly reflected behind this is the anxiety of the middle class about financial freedom and class status.
Obviously, our general understanding of rational consumption is not only that some consumption is necessary, but that when we judge whether consumption choice is necessary, we set a standard: that is, some consumption does not produce value, but is pure consumption and a kind of profligacy. And some consumption can also produce follow-up value in the future. In this regard, we should give priority to those consumption that can continuously realize value reproduction, and resolutely avoid those activities that are purely cost-consuming.
For example, an urban white-collar worker would rather spend thousands of dollars to send his children to various remedial classes and interest classes than let them play aimlessly after school, and certainly not let them share toys with migrant workers. Their principle of economic rationality tells them that it is a waste and irrational to pay for nothing in return. The antithesis of contemporary consumption view is the primitive consumption view described by Ba Taye. In ancient times, the purpose of people's festivals was to spend money, which was manifested as a destructive feast or carnival to show their wealth by destroying money. In the modern consumer society, double 1 1 embodies an economic rational thinking of "saving is earning". The former, under the concept of consumption, people's self-cognition is complete, and the overflowing Nietzschean sun has a dominant divinity. The latter is an insatiable lack and hunger, and constantly tries to make up for this lack through value preservation and reproduction. Therefore, behind the high consumption investment of the middle class, it actually reflects the general stingy psychology and hatred of "consumption".
The typical paradox of modern consumer society lies in the command of "rational consumption" with strong utilitarian color-the more we obey this command, the more guilty we feel. The more we try to manage our life with "consumption", the more we want to spend every penny "reasonably" and "valuable". The more you fall into the shadow of investment failure and class decline, the more you cannot extricate yourself. The self-psychological portrait of the civil class in modern society accurately reproduces the Puritans who represent Protestant ethics in Weber's works-they regard personal consumption activities not as a livelihood maintained by their families, but as a mission and vocation of continuous self-appreciation. In other words, everyone regards himself as a small capitalist who can rule and squeeze himself at will, an angel investor who is in charge of his personal bank account, and his only capital is his tired body and the little time left after 996, as well as borrowing and spending money (if he still has a credit balance at present and can continue to overdraw the future).
Or as Zizek said, "superego is not a real ethical kinetic energy, but a sadistic activist. He bombarded the subject with demands that the subject could not meet. The more we listen to him, the more guilty we feel. " When people try to spend rationally, try to create a little value, and try to take another small step to become "talented people", the reality always beats these young self-investors back to their original point again and again, or even worse. However, people always think that they are not diligent enough, have bad luck, or have the wrong methods, so after hastily changing one lecture after another on how to succeed, they are greeted with failures, regrets and excitement again and again. Obviously, savings cannot create surplus value, and self-investment is just a dream bubble. Most people's so-called rational consumption is just a part of the money they have saved hard, and then they cut their meat sadly on another thing worth paying.
Encouraging rational consumption means encouraging consumption. The only difference is that the former repeatedly and compulsorily tries to find a reasonable and necessary explanation for the specific consumption behavior to satisfy his "rational man hypothesis". The excuse of rational consumption did not really eliminate any guilt, but was aggravated by the desire of self-investment and becoming a "decent person".