Comments
kore wrote
one thing people can get into (and throw money at) without advertising is drugs (especially when weed was still widely illegal). I suppose there is some "advertising" in the form of friends/movies but it's far less and way different than say, beer commercials
heckthepolice wrote
Yeah but weed actually makes life more enjoyable
kore wrote
in moderation for sure
HexCat wrote
What about supporting artists or musicians? I'd say that's an example of something that, although optional life-wise, isn't always an artificial demand.
forgotten_passwords wrote
I think music and art is essential to human life since we are social beings. I don't mean that life should be some spartan hellhole.
Fossidarity wrote
Governments.
LostYonder wrote
Taxes
Insurance
Stock market/get rich quickly schemes
Lottery
"Liberal feel good" donations to organizations and gofundme causes
The latest fashion, accessory, brand
For-profit universities (hell, probably all universities), online "education"
Gourmet food stores
"Organic" products
Religion/religious institutions
Pet food
Most pharmaceuticals
anarcho_witch wrote
Money, itself, is a scam.
Brick wrote (edited )
Charity. The money just pays a bunch of middle class people's salaries and the people they're supposedly collecting for see little, if any of the cash.
sudo wrote
Alternative "medicine". There are lots of scams targeting gullible people, but these types are especially grievous because people have died from not receiving proper medical care because they trusted these quack doctors instead.
celebratedrecluse wrote (edited )
I mean, there's a lot to be said for the way that conventional western medicine has utterly discarded thousands of years of traditional herbal knowledge in favor of petrochemical-derived medicines and surgery.
You should read up on iatrogenesis in modern medicine (if you haven't already), I think it is a very interesting topic which goes frequently undiscussed due to the massive political power of the professional class in capitalist countries.
While I certainly have many criticisms of conceptions of the "natural" in this book (and in general when people use it, especially in the context of "natural medicine"), here is an interesting author who talks about iatrogenesis: https://soilandhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/0303critic/030313illich/Frame.Illich.Ch2.html
We should be pushing for evidence-based medicine which attempts to limit iatrogenic consequences by using the least invasive techniques, including herbal medicines if they are appropriate. Instead, especially in my country, the capitalist medical system pushes people to use the most expensive and thus lucrative options, even making lifesaving drugs like Naloxone and Norepinephrine too expensive for the poor to afford, let alone doctor's visits or other forms of healthcare. While there are many parties profiting here, you cannot divorce the class stratification of capitalist healthcare from the professionalization of medicine. In fact, they feed into each other.
There is a growing shift towards integrating herbal knowledge which is evidence-based within the medical field, but it's happening slowly, and only as a way to reinforce the professional class's power. This is not sufficient to address the problems we face, imo.
Ultimately, anarchists should be pushing for the deprofessionalization of medical knowledge (siloing knowledge and care in extremely hierarchical structures, to accumulate capital, is fucked up), equity for healthcare workers, and a healthier environment/food system. We should not creating new professions that sell a false bill of goods, like alternative (and sometimes conventional) systems do. I think it is like the difference between a green political party, and a green direct action coalition. One seeks to build up a new parasitic social relationship, and the other tries to actually address the problems we face from the root up.
gweur wrote
Alternative medicine Loot Boxes Vitamin Tablets Psychics Astrology Tarot New Age Stuff like crystals etc. Religions (new and old)
celebratedrecluse wrote
Homeopathy lol
somedeepshit wrote
banks
asg101 wrote
- Religion
- Sports
- Military
Order may vary.
MrPotatoeHead wrote (edited )
The Catholic church is the biggest on I can think of. Their selling trinkets and special dispensations to let you buy your way into heaven has always been outlandish.
somedeepshit wrote
global warming
forgotten_passwords wrote
The entire economy is built on throwing money at scams. Anything that is not directly contributing to the continuation of your life is optional. The only reason people buy it is because of artificial demand created by the advertising industry.