Yet in Japan, this mentality (very high price = "even better") seems to work perfectly ...
while i enjoy a bit of Japan bashing as much as the next gaijin (and while we're at it let's bash the Germans for eating lard sandwiches, and the Koreans for eating dog stew, the Chinese for eating monkey brains and the French for not bathing....ah, lucky thing America is the only country with no problems! [and anybody who tries to bash America for all the tens of thousands of gunshot-inflicted deaths every year has their head up their arse: we're exercising our Constitutional Rights to tote lethal weapons, just like in the pioneer days, man! who cares if it screws up our society such that people are so afraid of getting mugged they drive crappy cars and live in gated communities; there's a principle at stake!]), i feel compelled to defend the Japanese on this issue. certainly the Japanese have their weak spot for conspicuous consumption (they consume over half the world's Louis Vuitton bags, as well as other Euro couture crap), their consumption PALES compared to the consumption excesses in the US.
and consumption starts with our bodies. we are the FATTEST people in the world. obesity-related deaths kill 300,000 people a year--that's 100 World Trade Centers a year. we also spend all our money on cars, boats, pools, and various and sundry crap such that our savings rate is actually negative. meanwhile Japanese conspicuous consumption is generally limited to personal effects (i.e., what they can wear on their non-obese bodies). they may have a nice watch or a $200 Burberry scarf, but they don't have a car and they ride the subway home to a 400-s.f. apartment, where they don't have a dishwasher, or granite countertops, or a refrigerator that's taller than your knee, or a washer-dryer set that are big enough to sleep in, so they consume a small fraction of the energy per capita the average American does.
hell, if they want to overpay for melons, which are bought as gifts in the first place, let 'em. i think their gift policies are much better than ours. when you go to a wedding, you give somebody cash as a gift--don't bring a toaster! there was even a show on TV that explained how to give depending on your age and relation to the people getting married. based on my experience, Japanese are a LOT more generous in their giving than Americans. maybe that is because they don't have boat payments and car payments and pool payments and Lasik eye surgery payments eating up their disposable income. |
