Book Review: Affluenza - Clive Hamilton

Has been a while since I've had time for a book review. Not so much because I haven't had time to read but due to the time I've spent dwelling on the recent current affairs and state of the world. Finally finding a brief respite amidst the turmoil, comes another book review, Affluenza, When Too Much is Never Enough by Clive Hamilton and Richard Denniss. Surprisingly it was recommended to me by Mr A quite a few years ago rather than my ボーイフレンド .

Reading it after The Millionaire Next Door, I found that it built upon a lot of those foundations and provided a more in depth analysis on the spending habits of the the majority who live in first world western society. As you can probably guess by the title, Affluenza is a portmanteau affluence and influenza, it covers the topic of over consumption in our current culture. The premise of the book considers how we are often conditioned by media and more recently, social media to aspire to the lifestyles of the rich and famous and at the cost of our mental wellness and financial future. It covers the vast amount of possessions that we buy each year, upgrading to the newest, fanciest model of accessory whilst throwing out an unprecedented amount of waste. In the end it presents a message of downsizing, weighing up what is an essential rather than shallow desire to ensure that we can live a more fulfilling and fruitful life. It also means that for those who are stuck in jobs that they do not enjoy as much, they can become financially independent and retire earlier.

In a nutshell, affluenza can be encapsulated in the following:

 “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like.”
― Dave Ramsey

by 小福