Material World

Today we had an enjoyable Econs lesson. We laughed quite lot when our lecturer told us about her conversation with her cousin. Our lecturer said they were out having lunch when the cousin looked at my lecturer's $100+ watch and said, "Peggy! Why do you still have that watch? You should buy one of mine.", and she pointed to her own Rolex. My lecturer thought that was kind of rude and asked, "Hey, what's the time now?" The cousin looked at her Rolex and said, "11:30." And my lecturer went, "Hey! Mine says 11:30 too!" She meant that she bought her watch to tell the time, while at the same time implying that her cousin uses her Rolex for something else altogether, which is, to put it bluntly, to show off.

I think the material world is so shallow. Living in a well-to-do country like Singapore, you see these people everywhere. LV bags, Emporio Armani suits, Gucci sunglasses... Some buy just because they can afford it. Others buy because they want to seem as if they belong to the upper class, even if they can't afford that branded bag but went ahead and spent that month's salary on it, and after that tightening their belts. These products are used to symbolize their positions in society. I think only the very rich people should spend their money on these luxuries. For example, this rich guy not only wears a Rolex, an Armani suit, but also drives a BMW and live in a high-end condo. People will think he's indeed very rich. As compared to this girl who lives in a lousy HDB, takes public transport, spends very little on food, but carries a Gucci bag. People will think she's shallow. That she's trying too hard to fit in the upper class society.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is a societal problem.