A Wisdom Archive on Consumerist

Greer has stirred up debate all her adult life. Belinda Luscombe in Time Magazine called her "the ultimate Trojan Horse, gorgeous and witty, built to penetrate the seemingly unassailable fortress of patriarchy and let the rest of us foot soldiers in," describing her as "a joy to read, an eloquent maniac." The Guardian reported that the writer Angela Carter described Greer as "a clever fool", while former British MP Edwina Currie called her "a great big hard-boiled prat". Christine Wallace used the terms "grooviness perso ...

Read more here: » Germaine Greer: Encyclopedia II - Germaine Greer - Biographical details

Stranger in a Strange Land - Lack of psychological realism. Two related criticisms that have been made are that the book steps outside the bounds of psychological realism, and that it advocates a utopia which cannot actually be achieved without knowledge of the fictitious Martian language or similarly fanciful supernatural powers. However, some critics, including Patterson and Thornton, argue that the story is to be understood not as a psychologically realistic novel but as a qualitatively different form, the nar ...

Read more here: » Stranger in a Strange Land: Encyclopedia II - Stranger in a Strange Land - Criticism

Like many influential works of literature, Stranger made a contribution to the language: specifically, the word "grok." In Heinlein's invented Martian language, "grok" literally means "to drink" and figuratively means "to understand," "to love," or "to be one with." This word rapidly became common parlance among SciFi fans, hippies, and computer hackers, and has since entered the Oxford English Dictionary among others. A central element of the second half of the novel is the religious movement founded by Smith, the "Church of A ...

Read more here: » Stranger in a Strange Land: Encyclopedia II - Stranger in a Strange Land - Impact

The story portrays Valentine Michael Smith's adaptation to, and understanding of, humans and their culture, which is portrayed as an amplified version of consumerist and media-driven 20th-century America. Smith is the son of two astronauts, raised by Martians on Mars, until he is taken "home" to Earth, where he is effectively imprisoned in a hospital by the government. He is initially rescued from the hospital by nurse Gillian Boardman as part of ...

Read more here: » Stranger in a Strange Land: Encyclopedia II - Stranger in a Strange Land - Plot

Women don't realize how much men hate them, Greer argued, and how much they are taught to hate themselves. Christine Wallace writes that, when The Female Eunuch was first published, one woman had to keep it wrapped in brown paper because her husband wouldn't let her read it; arguments and fights broke out over dinner tables; and copies of it were thrown across rooms at unsuspecting husbands (Wallace 1997). It arrived in the stores in London in October 1970. By March 1971, it had nearly sold out its se ...

Read more here: » Germaine Greer: Encyclopedia II - Germaine Greer - The Female Eunuch

While there is not precisely an intellectual movement to promote consumerism, there has been, in recent years, strong criticism of the anti-consumerist movement. Most of this comes from libertarian thought. For example, Reason magazine, in 1999, attacked the anti-consumerism movement, claiming Marxist academics are repackaging themselves as anti-consumerists. James Twitchell, a professor at the University of Florida and popular writer, referred ...

Read more here: » Consumerism: Encyclopedia II - Consumerism - Counter arguments

Read more here: » Choice: Encyclopedia II - Choice - In economics and politics

Christmas is typically the largest annual stimulus for the economies of celebrating nations. Sales increase dramatically in almost all retail areas and shops introduce new products as people purchase gifts, decorations, and supplies. In the US, the Christmas shopping season now begins on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. More businesses and stores close on Christmas Day than any other day of the year in most countries - in most communities, virtually nothing is open or operating. In the United Kingdom, the Christmas Day (Trading) Act ...

Read more here: » Christmas: Encyclopedia II - Christmas - Economics of Christmas

Bucky O'Hare, a green hare, was the captain of a mammal frigate named The Righteous Indignation. His crew was introduced in the comic and consisted of: Jenny - pilot, an Aldebaran cat with mysterious magical powers. Blinky - an advanced AFC (Android First Class). Deadeye Duck - gunner, a four-armed pirate duck from Canopis III. Willy DuWitt - engineer, a pre-teen human from Earth who enters the aniverse via a portal between the ship's photon accelerator and his own accelerator at home. Willy replaced Bruce, the former engineer, who was kille ...

Read more here: » Bucky O'Hare: Encyclopedia II - Bucky O'Hare - Comic book

Until 3,000 years ago, all religions were pantheistic and polytheistic as Hinduism, Taoism and Shinto still are. They tolerated the religions of other tribes and cultures, recognising in their worship the same divine energies as their own, albeit with different names.
 
Why then did patriarchal, monotheistic religions arise in the Middle East 3,000 years ago, and spread in their Christian forms throughout Europe and then on to the European colonised overseas territories during the last 1,500 years? Why did these monotheistic religions fight so fiercely to eradicate nature worship in the lands they controlled? Why did Christianity promote a dualistic antagonism between the spirit and the flesh, with only the former conceived as being in the "image of God"?

 
(See also: Peace on Earth, Peace of Mind, Love and Happiness, Life and Beyond, Body Mind and Soul )

Read more here: » Peace on Earth: Cosmic Balance and World Peace