Tratto da:
British trend forecaster James Wallman has coined a new word: “Stuffocation.” (Think “stuff” and “suffocation.”) Wallman claims it’s one of the most crushing afflictions of modern society. Not only does the materialism it’s caused by have a disastrous ecological impact, the argument goes, it’s keeping us from leading more fulfilling lives.
The first step toward recovery is recognizing that more stuff doesn’t equal more happiness — something Wallman says is already happening. The second is finding something more meaningful to replace material items. That something, he argues, is experience: doing things instead of buying things. It’s an idea that, slowly but surely, he sees moving from the fringes of society to the mainstream.
If stuffocation is the key affliction of our time, in other words, then experientialism is going to be the key solution. In “Stuffocation,” his recently released book, Wallman chases down the people who are shifting away from acquiring and toward doing; speaking with Salon, he makes a convincing case for the rest of us to follow in their footsteps. This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
“Stuffocation.” Aside from the clever name, what’s new about this idea? Is it just a clever name for materialism, or is there something else you’re trying to get at?
The important thing about being a good cultural analyst and a good trend forecaster comes from applying the methodology sensibly and intelligently. And I say that because the way that I forecast the future is inspired by something a futurist named William Gibson once said: “The future is already here, it’s just not very evenly distributed.” So my role is to see the future here in the present and to identify the innovative ways of doing things that are happening now that I believe are going to catch on and move into the mainstream.
Some people have said, “What’s new about the problem with materialism? Everybody knows this. What’s new about saying that experience is better than material things? Lots of people say they know that already.” But I don’t think anyone else has quite said it. I don’t think anyone has identified this as being the defining problem. And stuffocation, for me, in some ways feels like a bag and I’ve put into it all the different aspects that explain this problem.
Travels and more from a European family 