Christmas and the Ethics of Consumerism
A Gift to Everyone
Christmas. Gift-time. The coupling is so immediate to most people who are acquainted with Christmas time that trying to render the equation by means of some numbers is beyond the point. How many gifts are people exchanging for Christmas throughout the world? How should we go about counting them? Counting by number misses the structure of a gift – for instance, a three-months cruise would count as much as a pencil.
Counting by expenditure seems to miss the significance of a gift and the varieties. We could count by amounts and genres – trips, events, toys, clothing, food and dining, and so on. But, really, what is of significance is that Christmas has surpassed any claim of consumerism, any truth regarding sales data.
One approach to consumerism looks at the waste it delivers. It’s not the superfluous. Nothing may be more important than what’s superfluous, and most philosophers hold this as a creed. What is of waste, however, is beyond the superfluous. It’s what cannot make any difference; it’s what cannot even be managed. If there is some ethical issue with consumerism, thus, is that it produces tons of waste. It may be best to try and avoid this.
The social pressure of providing a gift, however, is great. It may prove useful to think of what’s in a gift, and hence to what a gift is.
What’s in a Gift
A gift stands for an acknowledgement of care. The reasons why we care are countless. Our caring may simply be an emotion.
Or it may be a feeling. It may be the will of returning a favor. Or the aspiration to prompt a favor. Caring may be for those who we desire to live with or for those we cherish, for political and professional reasons, or for friendship.
Yet, a gift can tell much more. A gift can tell whether the donor has acquaintance with the interests and preferences of the receiver. A gift, that is, can reassure the receiver that the donor can tell her mind or needs. In the most fortunate cases, the donor can read the needs of the receiver better than the latter.
Exchanging gifts for Christmas is, ultimately, a manner of bonding and realize that structure of forgiveness that I have discussed in a separate article .
Who Benefits from the Gift?
Who really benefits from gifts? The advantages to the receiver and the donor may be quite easy to tell. But, of course, there is more. The social bonding is an additional benefit from the practice of exchanging gifts. International trade, and the economy in general, is another major reason why States aim at maintaining the exchange of gifts as a major Christmas ritual.
Why such a massive ritual of gift exchange has become predominant in affluent countries? What is its significance and why should governments facilitate it?
These questions reach at the core of the present debate on consumerism. Ultimately, I believe that an ethical appraisal of consumerism cannot do away with an appraisal of its societal significance. If people would not exchange gifts, how else would they cope with the sort of social bonding that present societal structure encourages, and perhaps requires?
One suggestion is that time, and personal attention or dedication, is becoming increasingly in demand. A form of giving, thus, could become time and attention. A gift would be spending an hour with someone, for instance cooking for an event, taking a coffee in absolute dedication for the interests of the interlocutor. Ideas and suggestions that go in this direction are most welcome.
Christmas. Gift-time. The coupling is so immediate to most people who are acquainted with Christmas time that trying to render the equation by means of some numbers is beyond the point. How many gifts are people exchanging for Christmas throughout the world? How should we go about counting them? Counting by number misses the structure of a gift – for instance, a three-months cruise would count as much as a pencil.
Counting by expenditure seems to miss the significance of a gift and the varieties. We could count by amounts and genres – trips, events, toys, clothing, food and dining, and so on. But, really, what is of significance is that Christmas has surpassed any claim of consumerism, any truth regarding sales data.
One approach to consumerism looks at the waste it delivers. It’s not the superfluous. Nothing may be more important than what’s superfluous, and most philosophers hold this as a creed. What is of waste, however, is beyond the superfluous. It’s what cannot make any difference; it’s what cannot even be managed. If there is some ethical issue with consumerism, thus, is that it produces tons of waste. It may be best to try and avoid this.
The social pressure of providing a gift, however, is great. It may prove useful to think of what’s in a gift, and hence to what a gift is.
What’s in a Gift
A gift stands for an acknowledgement of care. The reasons why we care are countless. Our caring may simply be an emotion.
Or it may be a feeling. It may be the will of returning a favor. Or the aspiration to prompt a favor. Caring may be for those who we desire to live with or for those we cherish, for political and professional reasons, or for friendship.
Yet, a gift can tell much more. A gift can tell whether the donor has acquaintance with the interests and preferences of the receiver. A gift, that is, can reassure the receiver that the donor can tell her mind or needs. In the most fortunate cases, the donor can read the needs of the receiver better than the latter.
Exchanging gifts for Christmas is, ultimately, a manner of bonding and realize that structure of forgiveness that I have discussed in a separate article .
Who Benefits from the Gift?
Who really benefits from gifts? The advantages to the receiver and the donor may be quite easy to tell. But, of course, there is more. The social bonding is an additional benefit from the practice of exchanging gifts. International trade, and the economy in general, is another major reason why States aim at maintaining the exchange of gifts as a major Christmas ritual.
Why such a massive ritual of gift exchange has become predominant in affluent countries? What is its significance and why should governments facilitate it?
These questions reach at the core of the present debate on consumerism. Ultimately, I believe that an ethical appraisal of consumerism cannot do away with an appraisal of its societal significance. If people would not exchange gifts, how else would they cope with the sort of social bonding that present societal structure encourages, and perhaps requires?
One suggestion is that time, and personal attention or dedication, is becoming increasingly in demand. A form of giving, thus, could become time and attention. A gift would be spending an hour with someone, for instance cooking for an event, taking a coffee in absolute dedication for the interests of the interlocutor. Ideas and suggestions that go in this direction are most welcome.