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BRENDAN O'NEILL, BBC - Owning too much stuff drives us into a spiral of
sadness, says a new book. Or is the real problem "misery-creep", where
everyday unhappiness is being rebranded as depression? . . . Clinical
psychologist Oliver James claims in his new book The Selfish Capitalist:
Origins of Affluenza, that "selfish capitalism" (the kind of capitalism
we have in Britain) is making us sick. Literally.
He says the emergence of selfish capitalism, first under Margaret
Thatcher and later Tony Blair, has led to a "startling increase in the
incidence of mental illness".
We might live more comfortable and stuff-filled lives than our forebears
did, but James believes the rise of materialism has come with a high
price tag attached - widespread anxiety and depression.
Experts believe 10% of Britons are compulsive shoppers On the surface,
we seem better off than earlier generations. For example, home ownership
in Britain has risen dramatically in recent decades. In 1953, the
proportion of owner-occupiers of homes in England was 32%. That figure
rose to 43% in 1961, 51% in 1971, and it peaked at 75% in 1981. Today
around 70% of homes in England are owner-occupied.
In the past, having a TV was seen as an indicator of wealth and class.
Now, according to a study carried out by marketing and information group
CACI, the average UK home has 4.7 television sets. A study by Lloyds TSB
found that seven out of 10 children have a TV in their rooms and half of
them have a DVD player too. . .
As the capitalist economy has grown, life seems to have improved: cheap
food is widely available (our grandparents can only have dreamt of
getting two chickens for the equivalent of a fiver in their local
supermarket), and most of us own our homes, drive cars, and have TVs,
DVDs and MP3s. . .
"The citizens of selfish capitalist countries are twice as likely to
suffer from a mental illness as the citizens of countries in mainland
western Europe, which practise 'unselfish capitalism'," argues James.
We're 'bombarded with messages to buy, buy, buy' He says studies show
that 23% of Americans, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and
Canadians - all English-speaking "selfish capitalist" nations - suffered
mental ill-health in the past 12 months. But only 11.5% of Germans,
Italians, French, Belgians, Spaniards and Dutch experienced mental
problems.
The message is clear, he says: "Selfish capitalism is bad for your
mental health.". . .
"It is not economic inequality between the rich and the working classes
that causes mental illness, though that certainly still exists," says Mr
James. "It is the combination of that inequality with an all-pervasive
consumerist culture which constantly tells people 'it could be you' you
could be a well-off winner too."
Simon Wessely, professor of epidemiological and liaison psychiatry at
King's College, London, believes that cultural factors, not capitalism
itself, have created a situation where more people define themselves as
mentally ill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7189947.stm
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BRENDAN O'NEILL, BBC - Owning too much stuff drives us into a spiral of
sadness, says a new book. Or is the real problem "misery-creep", where
everyday unhappiness is being rebranded as depression? . . . Clinical
psychologist Oliver James claims in his new book The Selfish Capitalist:
Origins of Affluenza, that "selfish capitalism" (the kind of capitalism
we have in Britain) is making us sick. Literally.
He says the emergence of selfish capitalism, first under Margaret
Thatcher and later Tony Blair, has led to a "startling increase in the
incidence of mental illness".
We might live more comfortable and stuff-filled lives than our forebears
did, but James believes the rise of materialism has come with a high
price tag attached - widespread anxiety and depression.
Experts believe 10% of Britons are compulsive shoppers On the surface,
we seem better off than earlier generations. For example, home ownership
in Britain has risen dramatically in recent decades. In 1953, the
proportion of owner-occupiers of homes in England was 32%. That figure
rose to 43% in 1961, 51% in 1971, and it peaked at 75% in 1981. Today
around 70% of homes in England are owner-occupied.
In the past, having a TV was seen as an indicator of wealth and class.
Now, according to a study carried out by marketing and information group
CACI, the average UK home has 4.7 television sets. A study by Lloyds TSB
found that seven out of 10 children have a TV in their rooms and half of
them have a DVD player too. . .
As the capitalist economy has grown, life seems to have improved: cheap
food is widely available (our grandparents can only have dreamt of
getting two chickens for the equivalent of a fiver in their local
supermarket), and most of us own our homes, drive cars, and have TVs,
DVDs and MP3s. . .
"The citizens of selfish capitalist countries are twice as likely to
suffer from a mental illness as the citizens of countries in mainland
western Europe, which practise 'unselfish capitalism'," argues James.
We're 'bombarded with messages to buy, buy, buy' He says studies show
that 23% of Americans, Britons, Australians, New Zealanders and
Canadians - all English-speaking "selfish capitalist" nations - suffered
mental ill-health in the past 12 months. But only 11.5% of Germans,
Italians, French, Belgians, Spaniards and Dutch experienced mental
problems.
The message is clear, he says: "Selfish capitalism is bad for your
mental health.". . .
"It is not economic inequality between the rich and the working classes
that causes mental illness, though that certainly still exists," says Mr
James. "It is the combination of that inequality with an all-pervasive
consumerist culture which constantly tells people 'it could be you' you
could be a well-off winner too."
Simon Wessely, professor of epidemiological and liaison psychiatry at
King's College, London, believes that cultural factors, not capitalism
itself, have created a situation where more people define themselves as
mentally ill.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/7189947.stm
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