please empty your brain below
Another atheist here.

In terms of describing today's world, the 4th para from the end is one of your best ever I think.

Blue Witch | Homepage | 14.06.17 - 7:12 a.m. | #

Amen to this, or whatever the atheist version is.

Deptford Dame | Homepage | 14.06.17 - 7:13 a.m. | #

I was up in Manchester last April and had my first opportunity to pay a visit to the Trafford Centre.
OMG, Westfield, eat your heart out!
Going inside the place felt almost like an Open House day, when you're able to visit and explore a temple of a religion other than your own.

RogerW | 14.06.17 - 7:14 a.m. | #

Same here DG. I'm proud to say never been to Westfield (west or east),Lakeside ,Bluewater or even Brent Cross. I am that person who is despised by white goods manufacturers because I try and repair things.

Haven't purchaseds anything from Macdonalds in 20 years but have used there toilets when needs must.

Pubs do Ok from me tho.....

chicker | 14.06.17 - 7:19 a.m. | #

Oh how true!

One minor quibble - observation of other countries suggests to me that there is nothing particularly British about the religion you describe. It exists worldwide - though doubtless the percentage of believers will vary somewhat from place to place.

And the poorer half of the world population has access to vastly fewer temples - in many cases none - so they do their worshipping from afar, by proxy.

Malcolm | 14.06.17 - 7:42 a.m. | #

I have been to both of London's Westfield malls and Lakeside, Bluewater, Brent cross, Canary Wharf etc. Rather like dg I have only been to look inside, and possible use the toilets. Would never consider buying items there. I never revisit for pleasure.
As UK inflation creeps up (now 2.9%) I wonder how the much longer the consumerism religion will survive.

John | 14.06.17 - 7:46 a.m. | #

I live with someone for whom 'going shopping' is a leisure pursuit. I am relieved to be able to confirm that this seldom if ever requires me to be in attendance.
I have regarded this as more than a habit, something akin to a compulsive weakness. I have never thought of it as a religious experience, until now. She is truly a believer.

*sigh*

Frank F | 14.06.17 - 7:52 a.m. | #

I've lived in Sheffield five years and I've never heard a good word of Meadowhall, yet still people go there, the very same ones who then tell me how dreadful it is. So maybe for some it's an oppressive religion that they can't escape, rather than one that brings them joy.

I've only popped in to use the toilets of course, whilst doing the Five Weirs Walk!

Sarah | 14.06.17 - 7:54 a.m. | #

I do hope you're not criticizing the only religion with some logic behind it :-) You could be dragged away at the dead of night and questioned, Mammon Forbid.. My Profit Prevail and Greed conquer all, Amen.

Alex McKenna | 14.06.17 - 8:42 a.m. | #

I would describe you as agnostic, DG. What about all those public owned museums/resources/galleries/heritage remnants that you visit and report on. What about all those 'leisure' bus journeys, tram and train journeys you pay for and enjoy? You may attend at the back of the church and depart before others see you but, you are no different to the rest.

B | 14.06.17 - 8:42 a.m. | #

Oh come on - Dawn of the Dead was made back in 1978 (for those who don't know the plot, the zombies have nothing better to do than visit the local mall, much to the irritation of those holed up in it).

There is the version of consumerism that makes our life better - older readers may remember life before fridges, washing machines, central heating etc. - arguably fashion may have been the first throwaway consumerism, famously American car makers adopted the same strategy, keeping the same basic design, but changing bodywork - but when something truly better appeared, namely Japanese cars, the American car manufacturers were badly hit.

Still anon | 14.06.17 - 9:10 a.m. | #

Enlightened as always. Perhaps your finest satire yet? I particularly enjoyed your paragraph on mythology.

Michael T | 14.06.17 - 9:12 a.m. | #

The only real shopping I do now is the weekly food shopping, everything else is ordered online.
Welcome to the 21st Century.

Michael | 14.06.17 - 10:17 a.m. | #

All sorts of things, putting the rubbish out, excreting, killing bad guys, killing foxes, keeping your body clean, scratching where it itches, polishing shoes, weeding, and all the rest are (a) necessary, but (b) rarely enjoyed (and if they are enjoyed, it tends to be seen as a perversion).

Whereas many other activities, which are also necessary (like exercise, sex, eating, travelling about) can be and often are enjoyed, and no-one things that enjoyment of these is perverted.

"Going shopping" just belongs in one list for some people, and in the other list for other people.

Malcolm | 14.06.17 - 11:59 a.m. | #

I must say visiting a real book shop is one of life's pleasures that has IMO transcended the 20th Century.

Michael | 14.06.17 - 12:16 p.m. | #

Consumerism a religion?

Possibly, or it might just be a leisure pursuit.

These things always need good definitions, but the EU, the BBC, and the NHS look far more like entities of irrational worship from where I'm sat.

I remember DG complaining about people who are against the BBC Licence fee, and he was practically crying over his keyboard, most undignified!

Max Roberts | 14.06.17 - 12:42 p.m. | #

Meanwhile I'm having to replace my laptop because that nice Mr. Gates will no longer fix his broken Vista software, so I'll have to fork out just to stand still.

Not everyone actively wants to be a throw-away consumer.

Gerry | 14.06.17 - 12:49 p.m. | #

Nature is my religion. That is where i spend my free time.
Consumerism is a necessary evil, and a path to be trodden as lightly as possible.

Cornish Cockney | 14.06.17 - 1:00 p.m. | #

I am a devotee of a parallel sect....the Church of the Sacred Womble. We reuse, recycle, mend and charity-shop our way through the vast amount of things the Consumers discard!

Auntie Doris | 14.06.17 - 1:03 p.m. | #

I'm not one for shopping either, but this post does come across a bit 'holier than thou'.

Adam | 14.06.17 - 1:07 p.m. | #

You are not an atheist - this blog is your religion and you are shackled by it. Your walks or visiting something new brings the same joy that someone else gets in buying a new pair of trainers at Westfield. Get over yourself.

Mark | 14.06.17 - 1:08 p.m. | #

Difficult to decide whether this, or your post about never stopping for a cup of coffee, is the more sanctimonious.

David | 14.06.17 - 1:22 p.m. | #

Well DG, your not-entirely serious post has certainly woken up the trolls.

Matt K | 14.06.17 - 1:27 p.m. | #

I can see where you're coming from DG and yes some people are hopelessly addicted to shopping and "going" shopping with all it entails. There is a vast amount of marketing led peer pressure to conform to a look or style and that's going to carry through into several more generations unless we have a catastrophic war or national collapse that forces people back to the basics of just surviving.

I don't go out of my way to visit shopping centres or traipse through shops. However I do like certain brands and styles of things but I try to not pay full price or else I temper my "want want want must have" desire and do without. Not having a lot of spare cash is the perfect antidote to excessive pressure to spend. Keeping the bills paid and roof over your head and body fed are the essentials.

PC | 14.06.17 - 1:47 p.m. | #

Well, I think I probably don't agree with most of DG's politics (probably along with the commenters labelled "trolls"), but this sentence

"Britain is essentially a Consumer nation, and our economy would collapse if it were not"

rings absolutely true. So, long may it continue.

I drink coffee (usually buying it from a chain) about 4-5 times a year, but I am quite happy when I see others buying several cups daily. I go shopping 1-2 times a year, usually in late January and August when items have been reduced in prices, but I am quite happy when I see others paying the full, inflated price in early December and July. I own shares in some of these companies.

John | 14.06.17 - 2:19 p.m. | #

Gerry, if Vista has let you down you may find your laptop will work fine and faster on Linux which is free. (I am using it now). Try Zorin 9 you have nothing to lose if you were going to throw the laptop out anyway.

John | 14.06.17 - 4:07 p.m. | #

This is called HyperNormalisation

Check out the documantary by adam curtis on youtube. We are consumed DG

Bruce Wayne | 14.06.17 - 4:22 p.m. | #

AN UNBELIEVER! PERSECUTE!

Very good article and sadly reflecting the new normal for so many young people. Westfield is the new place to go and be seen by the other straw dollies.

daveid76 | 14.06.17 - 4:42 p.m. | #

Bruce Wayne - good shout. Hypernormalisation is one of the best three hours of television I've ever seen.

daveid76 | 14.06.17 - 4:44 p.m. | #

I don't think DG is an atheist - but more of a ascetic, who takes pleasure in depriving himself indulgence. You can be a non-religious ascetic.

The trouble with asceticism is that the colour tends to drain out of life. As GK Chesterton put it.

If I had been a Heathen,
I'd have praised the purple vine,
My slaves should dig the vineyards,
And I would drink the wine.
But Higgins is a Heathen,
And his slaves grow lean and grey,
That he may drink some tepid milk
Exactly twice a day.

Stuart | 14.06.17 - 7:33 p.m. | #

100% spot om DG.

Jonathan | 14.06.17 - 10:49 p.m. | #

I thought this was an incredibly sad post.

Usually dg would use a three-word hint and make me chuckle at the stupidity of people who regard a Sunday trip to Westfield as a treat. Instead we get a long tirade with overtones of superiority towards anyone who has ever bought a pair of new shoes before holes appeared in their old ones.

The paragraph on families enjoying home-cooked meals while citizens of nowhere eat out (foreign food, I bet) was pretty Theresa May.

Disappointed | 15.06.17 - 12:34 p.m. | #

Blimey - there's some right po-faced commenters here, and nothing wrong with a bit of hyperbole to shake 'em out of the woodwork.

John | 15.06.17 - 4:55 p.m. | #

A splendid article, Sorry Stuart DG like some of us prefer the simple things like the countryside and exploring with out feeding some fat cat organisation, and as for lack of colour or interest, you have clearly just stumbled upon the DG blog, either read the entire back catalogue or blog off.

Peter | 15.06.17 - 5:40 p.m. | #

I couldn't agree more. I hate shopping so it's something to be done as quickly and infrequently as possible (preferably online or if not, in my lunch break or after work, rater than weekends).

That leaves me weekends for doing things I do enjoy. I've never been in Lakeside, Bluewater, Brent Cross or either Westfield and not been to Oxford Street in over 10 years.

I'm also surprised so many people seem to come on holiday to shop! Especially when you see the crowds (mostly Chinese, for some reason) piling on the trains at Marylebone for Bicester!

Jon Combe | 15.06.17 - 8:17 p.m. | #

@ Jon Combe - the Chinese love top notch brands and Bicester Village is home to a mass collection of discount outlets of many top notch brands (some British, some not). The scale of discount and the devalued point make somewhere like Bicester irresistible for the moneyed generation of Chinese (and no doubt Hong Kongers too). I've flown enough times to / from HK to see the very well to do HK Chinese jetting back and forth.

PC | 15.06.17 - 9:26 p.m. | #

Sometimes it’s hard (or impossible) to tell if DG is expressing his own opinion or merely reflecting an opinion held by some sections of the population.

Great Aunt Annie | 15.06.17 - 11:14 p.m. | #

I'm just popping in to say that what Malcolm (14.06.17 - 7:42 a.m) says is correct: "there is nothing particularly British about the religion you describe. It exists worldwide."

However, the malls here in Jakarta, which, thanks to the luxury of air conditioning, were once viewed as weekend recreational facilities for the poor, are noticeably less populated (or so I'm told.)

That's because Governor Ahok, now imprisoned for 'blasphemy' through political machinations, instituted small staffed community parks, primarily children's playspaces, across much of the metropolis.

Londoners have long had much to appreciate in terms of public spaces which, as DG so often writes, are there to be enjoyed without bothering about 'lifestyle choices'.
..............................................
Yes, as others have said, this is a splendid article. For those of you who who think that consumerism is ok, just pause a moment and consider how you are contributing to climate change. Countries rich in 'natural resources' are being environmentally degraded to feed your greed.

Palm oil anyone?

Jakartass | Homepage | 16.06.17 - 3:13 a.m. | #











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