Hanan wrote in a comment:
I have to wonder: Is the inability to value one’s time (rather than accumulating things excessively) simply the inability to accept one’s inevitable departure from this world? Do people with an obsessive mindset toward life have an inherent denial of death, and thus seek to “escape” into their possessions, which are to all intents and purposes substitutes for “immortality” (things do “die” after all, even though they do die?) They underestimate their value! )
I do not think it is a desire to have something that will outlive us, any way of turning our soul into a blender 
Most of the crap bought and sold these days is purposefully designed for planned obsolescence. I’m leaning more towards the theory that people (or rather our culture) are not yet accustomed to everything being plentiful and practically available on demand, and that everyone still has their own collection of gadgets, their own library, their own car, their own home cinema, etc.
I think it’s similar to how people undergoing a demographic transition from an underdeveloped region have many children while more mature cultures, which went through a transition generations ago, have much fewer children. The reason is that in more mature and civilized countries, having many children is no longer seen as a source of financial security, retirement safety, cheap labor, a good life, or just joy and happiness, but rather as a liability.
Obviously there’s a great abundance of people now and that’s why more people are seen as a liability, but I think we haven’t gone through a transition yet in terms of the abundance of things. The problem is that most people no longer view their collecting as a liability, which it has become in this day and age, but as a source of wealth, which it no longer is.
open source, freecyclingOr just large-scale “second-hand” marketplaces like Amazon or eBay are great examples of this mature attitude to things.
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Originally published on 2008-03-05 07:20:48.
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