I wouldn’t say so in this case. A watch is probably about as close to “good” conspicuous consumption as it’s possible to get. Think about it: it’s generally a “buy once, keep it forever” item, takes essentially 0 resources to keep functioning (generally the expensive ones don’t require batteries), uses very little material to manufacture, and all the price is coming from specialist labour.
It’s a waste of money, but it’s a harmless waste, especially when compared to things like private jets and yachts.
The “specialist” working for a car’s worth for a single watch, could be something useful instead. It’s proportionnally as much waste as a private jet. For the price, the jet is also very little resources consumed but an ungodly amount of labour goes into them that could instead be doing something useful !
The kind of waste I’m talking about doesn’t give two fucks about proportionality. CO2 in the atmosphere makes no distinction between being emitted by a single person or three million.
Also, fuck living in a world where only things arbitrarily deemed “useful” are considered worthy. Does art have no place in your world? It’s not “useful”. Should people be banned from having hobbies? Those aren’t “useful”.
I work in a factory making turbine engines, if I worked in a factory making 50k$ watches we would produce just as much CO2.
You absolutely would not. Not even remotely close.
Also, you’re ignoring the emissions over the lifetime of the thing. As soon as the watch is manufactured, it’s emissions contribution is done. That turbine will continue generating emissions over it’s entire existence.
Maybe it’s appropriate to get mad at such pointless waste.
I wouldn’t say so in this case. A watch is probably about as close to “good” conspicuous consumption as it’s possible to get. Think about it: it’s generally a “buy once, keep it forever” item, takes essentially 0 resources to keep functioning (generally the expensive ones don’t require batteries), uses very little material to manufacture, and all the price is coming from specialist labour.
It’s a waste of money, but it’s a harmless waste, especially when compared to things like private jets and yachts.
The “specialist” working for a car’s worth for a single watch, could be something useful instead. It’s proportionnally as much waste as a private jet. For the price, the jet is also very little resources consumed but an ungodly amount of labour goes into them that could instead be doing something useful !
The kind of waste I’m talking about doesn’t give two fucks about proportionality. CO2 in the atmosphere makes no distinction between being emitted by a single person or three million.
Also, fuck living in a world where only things arbitrarily deemed “useful” are considered worthy. Does art have no place in your world? It’s not “useful”. Should people be banned from having hobbies? Those aren’t “useful”.
Whether you pay a factory to make car priced watched or private jets, all that money pays people who will emit just as much CO2.
I work in a factory making turbine engines, if I worked in a factory making 50k$ watches we would produce just as much CO2.
In both cases, the products we make are largely useless fabricated demand by advertising.
You absolutely would not. Not even remotely close.
Also, you’re ignoring the emissions over the lifetime of the thing. As soon as the watch is manufactured, it’s emissions contribution is done. That turbine will continue generating emissions over it’s entire existence.
You think art isn’t useful?