Amitai Etzioni, a professor of international relations (among other things) at George Washington University, talks about consumerism, real needs, and what really provides satisfaction. He mentions a TED talk, but I didn't find it on TED's site yet, maybe too recent. Anyway, this video is food for thoughts and may generate more posts...
thank you for sharing this video. i really enjoyed watching it. what really rang my bell were the key words of 'inner satisfaction' and 'contentment'. i'll sure be contemplating this for a while. looking forward to what you have to say about this!
Great, I'm happy you enjoyed it as much as I did when I discovered it. It rang a bell for me too, as if he was summarizing all questions I'm asking myself on consumerism lately... I hope my follow-up posts will be of help, and that it can generate thoughts and conversations!
I quite liked this! And I especially like those 3 things he listed as being the main sources of happiness. I need to pay more attention to the one on 'intellection'.
In the past few months I've noticed that I read less and less blogs, because most of them offer absolutely nothing to me. Although my "day job" consists of reading, reading and reading (I'm a law student), I do wish I read more books during my free time. I ordered this interesting sounding book 'The Theory of the Leisure Class' written in the 1890s by an economist on conspiciuous consumption etc. and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can read it. And then I shall have to figure out what other books to read to help me grow intellectually. Reading a good book is so much more rewarding than buying something.
Yes, these 3 sources made me think a lot too. I've always loved reading, listening to music, writing, watching movies and going to museums and exhibits. According to M. Etzioni, this is a great source of satisfaction, and now that I'm thinking of it, the best moment of my day usually are one of these, or meeting with loved ones.
When you read that book, please do let me know what you think! I might want to pick it up too.
thank you for sharing this video. i really enjoyed watching it. what really rang my bell were the key words of 'inner satisfaction' and 'contentment'. i'll sure be contemplating this for a while. looking forward to what you have to say about this!
ReplyDeleteGreat, I'm happy you enjoyed it as much as I did when I discovered it. It rang a bell for me too, as if he was summarizing all questions I'm asking myself on consumerism lately...
DeleteI hope my follow-up posts will be of help, and that it can generate thoughts and conversations!
Loved this video! Had to share it on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteThat's great! As goes the TED motto, this is the kind of "idea worth spreading"!
DeleteI love this, I can't wait to see his TED talk!
ReplyDeleteYes me too! TED always upload the talks after a while, so hopefully M.Etzioni's talk will be up soon.
DeleteI quite liked this! And I especially like those 3 things he listed as being the main sources of happiness. I need to pay more attention to the one on 'intellection'.
ReplyDeleteIn the past few months I've noticed that I read less and less blogs, because most of them offer absolutely nothing to me. Although my "day job" consists of reading, reading and reading (I'm a law student), I do wish I read more books during my free time. I ordered this interesting sounding book 'The Theory of the Leisure Class' written in the 1890s by an economist on conspiciuous consumption etc. and I can't wait for it to arrive so I can read it. And then I shall have to figure out what other books to read to help me grow intellectually. Reading a good book is so much more rewarding than buying something.
Yes, these 3 sources made me think a lot too. I've always loved reading, listening to music, writing, watching movies and going to museums and exhibits. According to M. Etzioni, this is a great source of satisfaction, and now that I'm thinking of it, the best moment of my day usually are one of these, or meeting with loved ones.
DeleteWhen you read that book, please do let me know what you think! I might want to pick it up too.