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© Bibi Baxter, England 2007 COMMERCIALISM & GLOBALIZATION |
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THE CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
RELATED PAGES |
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THE SUCCESS & EXCESSES OF COMMERCIALISM |
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Computers have allowed us
to analyze everything in order to improve techniques and exploit people:- ·
Sport is now a science and maximum output can be achieved
from each muscle, whilst ways to help the brain overcome natural limits
have also been developed, e.g. visualisation, muscle-tearing, breathing
control, streamlined-clothing, revised methods, lightweight equipment, etc. ·
Retail has become such an exacting science that:- o
some goods are sold at a loss (loss-leaders), because
competition is so cut-throat o
wholesale purchasing is done in bulk on a national scale by
large chain stores o
purchasing power is such, that suppliers can be held to
ransom by exacting discount demands, which can either make or break them, because of their own very small profit margins o
high streets and shopping outlets everywhere look similar o
checkout-computers register every item sold, so restocking
is automatic o
different branches of superstores stock the range of goods as
dictated by their head office computers o
goods bought in the north can be exchanged at any store in
the south, etc. o
shops only stock lines, which have a quick turnover o
specialized goods are not allowed to remain in stock for
long, so are reduced for quick sale and discontinued, thereby making it
impossible to find such items locally o stores in each town often have uniform layouts, or corporate colour schemes o
shoppers are watched, filmed and studied for buying habits o
in addition to re-arranging shelves, so shoppers have to
look round the whole store, to find what they seek, store layouts are pre-determined from a psychological point
of view in order to control shoppers, e.g. §
décor and floor layouts often give subliminal messages
through colours and patterns, e.g. chevrons on a floor pattern might
guide customers in a certain direction § goods are placed at certain vantage points, according to desired turnover, e.g. at eye-level, on end of shelf positions, in displays near to checkout, etc. o mass-production has enabled stores to constantly lower their prices. Even meat and other animal products are 'mass-produced', regardless of suffering. Farmers are forced to accept minimal prices, so animals are exploited and cruel methods of battery farming are often the chosen methods, because the profit-margin is so tight o
musak is played to relax customers o
customers are conditioned to expect to pay less for bulk
buying, even though that is not always the case o
store cards record individual buying patterns and this
information is sold, (together with personal information) to mailshot
companies o
shoppers are given credit-ratings according to their
post-code · As the retail trade has become super-efficient, so have they moved into other areas, in order to grab a bigger bite of the cherry and draw in more customers. To do this, they have encroached on other businesses in such a way, they are ruthlessly stealing custom. When supermarkets first began, they did not supply any of the following:- finance, banking, insurance, freshly-cooked foods, sandwiches, photographic services, pharmaceutical services, shoe repairs, post office services, glasses & optician services, clothes, shoes, electrical goods, alcohol; some superstores even provide GP services and entertaining ‘fun-days’. This has meant the death of what used to be the bustling High Street. Branches of banks are being sold off and many small businesses have folded, e.g. butchers, fishmongers, bakers, pet-shops, etc. Today’s High Streets in the UK consist mostly of fast-food eating houses, building societies and charity shops, together with a few other shops; however, out-of-town shopping outlets are starving even those few shops. To make matters worse, the norm for traditional bank holidays are family day-trips to the local superstore for balloons, face-painting, etc. in place of trips to a museum, long-distance relatives, the park, the seaside, etc. |
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What is globalisation doing to the developing world? Having exhausted national
markets, commercialism is looking abroad for markets anew.
Europe is still in the process of being changed forever and
considers it to be progress:
More seriously is the invasion of poorer countries
- initially called The Third World by the snob West. Considered inferior,
due to the use of traditional farming methods, these poorer countries are
now referred to as Developing Countries, because they are being made to
change to a vague version of Westernisation.
Traditional cultures should both be valued for their diversity. Who has decided the world must lose its cultural heritage and
its diversity in favour of uniformity? (Answer: Ruthless Commercialism) What does it mean?
Poorer countries are surely not wealthy enough to
become a suitable customer-base for retail outlets.
No! Worse than
that. Life is cheap. Their cost of living is cheap. People are being made to jettison their traditional, cultural way of life to
work in sweatshops and factories, which are not governed by safety
legislation, to produce even cheaper goods for western
retail outlets. ‘Not in our back yard’ Traditional farms and villages are slowly being turned into sites for ugly, dangerous chemical factories and storage depots, which are unwanted elsewhere (see below) Money and bribery talks, of course, so poverty-stricken villagers' protests are over-ridden; protesters are sometimes killed, as in Nandigram, West Bengal.With
their cost of living being lower, the wage-bill is drastically reduced for
mass-production, resulting in cheaper goods for the West.
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(The sun needs positive energy from us all) Commercialism is responsible for increased negative energy, because:
Could increased negative energy, pollution and the loss of vegetation and wildlife be responsible for Earth's changing orbit? I believe it
is. Bibi Baxter - April 2007
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