Consumerism as personal expression

Consumerism as personal expression

In modern times you don't make your own stuff, you buy it. So personal expression is constrained by the limits of economics: what can be produced at a economical price. You cannot have custom made to the specifications of your whim (yet), so you must be you but off the rack.

One way to dodge the Sears or J.C. Penney conundrum is to go vintage. Travel through time to find a world where your taste ruled (the Mesozoic?).

In cars it's even more extreme. There are about 100 models fielded by the about 10 car companies.

So imagine my surprise, tonight, chatting with friends with whom we had never discussed cars, that they listed:
the Volvo wagon
the Mercedes wagon (from the 80s)
and the Jetta wagon

Exactly the cars we spent hours poring over last month.

Now, the fact that we did not buy some such car is the force of the market. It constrains us as it does them. They are getting an SUV anyway...and so are we.