American society and social change

American Society

The aspects of American society that I believe most need to change are the interrelated issues of consumerism and economic disparity -- more specifically, I think the societal system that rewards wealth in ways that are not intrinsic to obtaining wealth needs to change, or even be totally abolished. I do not mean to say that the ability to earn wealth should be done away with in some sort of communist fashion (though I do not see anything inherently wrong with Communism; it just seems to be impractical or at least historically un-practicable). What I do mean is that the ability to earn wealth should be tempered with increased tax rates for the highest earners, and a government that is responsive to the needs of its most poor citizens rather than its wealthiest.

It seems like most aspects of our society, even the subcultures and counter-cultures, celebrate the acquisition not only of wealth, but of flashy, luxurious items that are a prominent way of displaying wealth. In some circles, this is seen by wearing new designer clothes all the time, and driving the newest, fanciest cars, including vehicles like Cadillac Escalades and Hummers that are symbols of this "conspicuous consumption." Rap culture, which was traditionally against playing into the system and obtaining the things that "the man" held in esteem, has now become the culture of "bling," which has its own lost of flashy and shiny objects that are south after as status symbols, though they have no real use or any practical value. This is what I mean by consumerism, and the reason I suggest that it is one of the major aspects of our society that needs to change is that it creates desires that cannot be fulfilled, and tends to lead to a continued degradation of the poor and increased wealth for the rich.

The way that this happens is complicated, but basically businesses come up with marketing schemes to convince people that they will be happy if only they own this or that gadget, or if they have a fancy necklace, ring, or "grill" to show off. This means that their money ends up being spent on useless things rather than being saved, or used to buy homes or other assets that could actually provide financial security. In addition, the current official system -- taxes, the workings of the government, and politicians and lobbyists which have become unofficially official -- is set up to protect the interests of big business and the very wealthy, with tax breaks, access to government, and the ability (meaning time and money, which are really the same thing in these scenarios) to affect change through the courts and legislation.