Published in El Pais, 16 February 2019.
One of the reasons we buy things we do not need is to show others that we have the money to buy in order to increase our social status. With this we do not feel better, but we think that others also think that we are more important. This behavior was explained by the sociologist Thorstein Veblen in 1899. Surely, he could not imagine that 120 years later we would continue to fall into this trap.
Nowadays, many people do not save because they have spent it on things that are not worth it. They also feel the need to buy a new car to show they have money. So, they lend to buy the luxury car. Neighbors and friends do oooh, aaah and wooow and surely think you’re financially good. What you do not see are the high interest loans you have with the bank.
Many people want to feel unique and special. For this they want to do things that few people do, such as buying large cars, swimming with sharks, having tattoos, buying clothes or expensive phones. It would seem that we risk our peace and our economy just to please the rest. Why? Maybe before we had more urgent things to worry about like having food, being healthy and not abruptly dying in a war. Nowadays it would seem that there is no need to live with care, plan your economy, take care of your health because everything is fine! Our biggest problem is to impress our friends, neighbors and others.
When I read that in the US, 36% of people between 18 and 29 have a tattoo, maybe I must interpret that they are doing well. To have something special, others are thrown with a rubber rope from a bridge and have it recorded in cameras. In all this search to impress others, have we stopped to think if these purchases or deeds that we do, do us well? Are we happy? Are we able to live quietly with the loans and can we pay them?
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