I wonder if we in the west are heading towards the post-consumption age? I have always objected to being referred to as a consumer – it reduces our humanity somewhat to be viewed as simply a creature that devours things. Much has changed in the past few years and rabid consumption is now frowned on in many circles. Do you remember Gordon Gekko in Wall Street whose motto was “Greed is Good”? (He also said “lunch is for wimps”, which I find even more shocking. Lunch is a joy.) That was the 1980s for you. I used to know someone who firmly believed that the person who died with the most toys would win.
The 90s were really no better. People – okay, women – salivated over those ludicrously expensive and horribly uncomfortable designer shoes worn by the women on Sex and the City. Rich people dressed in designer labels, enabling the designers to turn into rich people themselves. Gianni Versace’s mansion in Miami had eight bedrooms, three kitchens, ten bathrooms, a shower that could fit eight people and a pool inlaid with 24-karat gold tiles imported from Italy. Conspicuous consumption was definitely enjoying a moment.
But the mood has shifted in recent years and now we worry that over-consumption is destroying the planet, about the unfair distribution of wealth and over the pointlessness of it all. Older generations are looking at the results of years of accumulation, feeling burdened by their possessions and yearning for a simple life in the country with just a few goats, a pig, some chickens, a veg patch and possibly a vineyard. It doesn’t look that simple to me; in fact, it looks like incredibly hard work.
Personally, I’m very keen on alpacas, but fortunately there’s a farm a couple of miles from here with alpacas peeping over the fence, so I can visit them when I like. Why would I go to all the effort and expense of keeping them when I can just drop by and have a chat? And it seems that this is how things are going. Everyone is borrowing and renting stuff now and it ticks so many boxes: good for the environment, much cheaper and so much less effort.
Now you can rent or borrow just about anything. Aside from the obvious like cars, books and houses, you can rent a cat to sort out your rodent problem or borrow a dog to take along for your walk in the countryside. Renting a wedding dress is old news, now you can hire a wedding cake and your bridesmaids as well if you like. There is a tradition of professional mourners going back thousands of years, but surely renting a casket is a fairly new trend? And you actually can rent a mob – or a crowd as they prefer to call it. Rentacrowduk.co.uk will meet all your group-gathering needs.
I have no group-gathering needs at the moment and I already have a cat, who is very good at catching poor unsuspecting mice from the local woods, but pretty tolerant of the ones who live under our sink. I do, however, have a slightly used wedding dress, creepily preserved in a box with a clear lid, which I will happily lend to anyone seeking to recreate the sheer flamboyance and tastelessness of the 1980s.
Quite agree, though not entirely sure how hiring a wedding cake would work?
Maybe you could just eat one layer and send the rest back?!