Ever wonder why it’s so hard to soothe that little (or big) voice of dissatisfaction that is rolling around consumers’ heads all the time, egging them on to always want more? If you read the new book by Dr. Sherry Ackerman, The Good Life: How to Create a Sustainable and Fulfilling Lifestyle, you’ll find out! Rather than keep you in suspense (but please read the book), I’ll tell you right now that she describes how Charles Kettering, director of General Motors Research, wrote a magazine article many years ago called “Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied.” Our consumer society has certainly carried it out to the letter, while cleverly seeming to satisfy all.
Dr. Ackerman therefore states in the book, “For many people, consumer culture has lost its appeal. So have debt accumulation, time poverty, exteriority, and social alienation. Cultivating a sustainable postconsumer society will be contingent upon our ability to make a shift in consciousness.” That’s why I say in my quote for the book that “she has identified concepts that can transform our dead consumer culture into a living postconsumer society. . .moving beyond addictive consumerism forever.” For more inspiration, see her website.
