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There are always two or more sides to a story, in the case of capitalism upsides include innovative products and services since creativity is unhindered and individuals who invent good products can be richly rewarded. One major down side of capitalism is corporate brainwashing, otherwise known as branding. The sole purpose of corporate advertising is to place consumers on a treadmill, where the more we have leads to the more we want, and so on, and so on.... If you think about it branding is down right evil because it contributes to unrealistic lifestyle expectations, and perpetuates gluttonous consumerism (with unintended consequences) which is unsustainable over the long run. Ads show a dream world, where happiness (or instant gratification) is only achieved when you use brand x, and if people do not have their fix of brand x or some other material goods, they have increased feelings of envy, resentment and regret. Secondly, dominance of brand x makes for a pretty boring world, for example if someone flies to Amsterdam or Tokyo for a week of business or pleasure (from the States) they can eat at McDonalds or drink coffee at Starbucks, which would be no different than what they would find at their local mall or town back home. Freedom of expression is one of the great liberties individuals have in a democracy, and branding dilutes independent thought and expression. So if you want to gain back some individuality then take the initiative to lessen ubiquitous junkmail, spam and miscellaneous graphic banner ads and look at slick marketing campaigns for alcohol, tobacco and SUVs (hint click on the logos) in another light. |  |
