We live in a world shaped by “commodity fetish,” producing cascading results. As objects become surrogates for your identity, we increasingly need validation through more purcahses: I am my stuff.
Marketers first sell objects by necessity, then conveneince, then “trim options” allow us to “personalize” the product. Eventually, utilitarian function drowns beneath gold-plated excess.
This obsession can help tribalism by adopting passcodes and outwardly signaling affiliation, but idenitification as individual identity is easily manipulble. This dependency on materialism can confine our thinking, compelling us to continuously align ourselves with our vested interests.