Preview

Summary Of The Treadmill Of Consumption

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
271 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of The Treadmill Of Consumption
Out of the three essay’s given, I have chosen to go in depth with “The Treadmill of Consumption” written by James Roberts. As Roberts describes it, “The Treadmill of Consumption” can be defined as the “process of moving ahead materially without any real gain in satisfaction.” The average person ends up purchasing more trying to move forward and closer to happiness but does not realize that this will not bring them any satisfaction, hence the name of this essay. It may feel like you are moving forward but you are not gaining anything. For example, when little kids really want a toy and they get their way- they barely play with that toy for 5-10 minutes and its on to the new thing they want. This only speeds up the treadmill of consumption process,

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Capitalism is the gasoline to the car of the first-world nations. It is what sadly seems in America and many other countries alike to make the Earth go around. This has become an addiction and disease of America. Everyone has been victim to the issues of capitalism as it has been deeply engrained and rooted at birth. We start off wanting just a few things but once we find out there is so much more out there we get locked into the material things of life.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many people spend their entire lives searching for the key, to what will actually make them happy. In “Yes, Money Can Make You Happy,” written by Associate Professor Cass R. Sunstein, he studied the relationship between money and happiness, in his article he has borrows heavily from Professors Elizabeth Dunn and Professor Michael Norton, who listed five simple suggestions that demonstrate how people can spend their money and receive pleasure. Some people lead simple lives and enjoy pleasure surrounded by family and friends, while others are always be alert to new trends that promise to make their lives more enjoyable and easier. Practicing delayed gratification, will lead to extended periods of happiness. As a result of this experience, people will move from unhappy ways and will becoming more happy, generous, and remain in…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    And by doing so, it leads us to burnout. The best way to fix this is to implement the “two-minute rule.” Which — like the name suggests — means that when starting a new habit, it should take no longer than two minutes. By doing this, it makes starting habits easy and creates a habit that will lead you down a more productive path. A habit should be established before you improve it, and if you don’t have the skill of showing up for your habits, then you have a thin chance of mastering your new habit.…

    • 1123 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people now do not get satisfied by buying just a couple items. Anna Quindlen discusses in her essay “Stuff Is Not Salvation,” how people are obsessed with buying unnecessary things. I agree with her that many of us now spend so much on useless things, and the less families buy the happier they seem to be. There seems to be plenty of people addicted to shopping now. They buy and buy even if they cannot afford it.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    David Sze (July 7, 2015) posted a column in the Huffington Post entitled, “Money and Happiness? It’s Complicated.” As the title suggests, Sze discusses the link between having money and finding happiness, or “life satisfaction.” He approaches the issue from a post-modern perspective without considering any transcendent categories to evaluate the issue. Leaving a theistic perspective out, Sze struggles to find an adequate explanation for meaning, happiness and satisfaction in life.…

    • 615 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the essay “If Money Doesn’t Make You Happy, Then You Probably Aren’t Spending It Right”, Dunn, Gilbert, and Wilson explain why people often fail to make use of money even though it is a helpful tool to gain happiness and recommend eight useful ways to spend money that make people happy. Firstly, they claim that experiential purchases make people feel happier than material ones. In addition, experiences are more mentally revisited than things so they bring us happiness either when we use them or think about them. Secondly, people who spend money on others are shown to be happier than those people spending money on themselves. They point out that “the quality of our social…

    • 741 Words
    • 22 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biff’s Monologue: Train Ride Home After Finding Out That Willy Was Cheating on Linda “I just couldn’t even begin to understand where Willy got the idea that hanging out with that woman was okay. Imagine my immense shock when I entered his room up in Boston and saw her prostrated upon the bed, giggling and openly flirting with Willy. Not only did he cheat on my mother, but he looked right into my eyes and told me a boldfaced lie. It was as if he thought i wasn’t smart enough to figure out what was going on. It was rather obvious that she was more than just one of his “buyers.”…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A person should consider to buy the things that they need instead of what they want. There is a lot of famous people that has several exotic cars but somehow lives a miserable life. A person with one car will live better than the person with two or more. In today’s society, materialistic thing cause less happiness than people who are less…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Everyone wants happiness. For many people, that happiness supposedly comes from material items. It is perfectly acceptable to want to have objects, but being dependent on money and items to make yourself happy is not a good mindset. The happiness you feel when you buy something new is only temporary. Objects will be forgotten, and items will perish. A spiritual teacher by the name of Adyashanti offers a theory for that: “When we make a purchase and/or get what we want, we are temporarily happy and fulfilled. But the reason for happiness is not because we got what we wanted, but because for a brief period of time, we stopped wanting, and thus we experience peace and happiness.” The short story ‘Approximations,’ by Mona Simpson demonstrates the belief of materialism…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Who Peynted The Lion

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Who peynted the leon, tel me who?” (The Wife of Bath Prologue line 857).This quote is describing how the lion is metaphorically representing a person in this case women and the who men. Men are the individuals who painted women into their image of how they want them to be. This is what exactly The Wife of Bath is trying to do. According to Mary Carruthers' article…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    According to Aristotle every activity aims at some good, which is happiness, and that we should do so by aiming for excellence through rational activities. Happiness is being able to do well in life and live well; however, he argues that many believe happiness has to do with your wealth, pleasure, or honor. People who are wealthy are not aiming for the good they are simply seeking it for another purpose. For example, when you have a lot of money and you want the new iPhone. Well now that you purchased the phone you have to purchase a new case and a new charger and then the next best iPhone becomes available for purchase and repeat. There is no end to the cycle of wealth because people are always seeking other means, which happiness is the…

    • 678 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Money and gems can not buy happiness, but only comfort. For example Prof. Howell says, “And yet we still keep on buying material things,” He says ,“Because they’re tangible and we think we can keep on using them.”(Prof. Howell 2008). This tells us that people will buy jewelry and furniture because they’re tangible and will last a while. This also proves that people will buy material goods because they think it will last longer than a cruise or a flight to Hawaii. Dr. Dean says “People's’ desires for material possessions at the same, or greater rate, than their salaries… this means that despite considerably have more luxurious possessions, people end up no happier.”(Dr. Dean 2008) This…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pr in Selfish Pursuit

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “You arrive at a goal and that makes you happy, but then you notice that the happiness is composed half of relief, half of self satisfaction; the latter half makes you distinctly nervous, and you fall to chewing on your achievements, discounting them. This then becomes the spur to more achievements, more happiness, and more guilt”…

    • 541 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Anna Quindlen, a novelist, social critic, and journalist wrote an intriguing essay “Stuff is Not Salvation” about the addiction of Americans, who splurge on materialistic items that have no real meaning. The ability to obtain credit is one of the main reasons to blame for society’s consumption epidemic. However, Quindlen feels the economic decline due to credit card debt is insignificant compared to the underlying issues of American’s binging problems. Quindlen’s essay gives excellent points regarding the differences in America’s typical shopping habits. Additionally, she mentions how people acquire all this “stuff” but seem to never realize, “why did I get this?”(501). Quindlen makes her audience visualize a world where we acquire our needs versus our meaningless desires. Yet, she fails to mention people who could live a life of happiness through the possessions they acquire.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Character sketch

    • 312 Words
    • 1 Page

    Michael Finley began walking to his room, very exasperated from the day's occurrences. Michael was a diminutive adolescent with short black hair and dazzling blue eyes. Michael was wearing what he wore every single day, his decrepit blue jeans, a tangerine shirt and his bulky brown boots. Michael was a quiet and coy youth who had very few friends. Because he had very few friends , Michael became very introspective. Michael meandered aimlessly, cogitating about his fantasy. Michael fantasized about friendship, something that all people want.…

    • 312 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays