THE PARADOX OF AFFLUENCE : MANAGING MATERIAL ASPIRATIONS AND THE POLITICS OF CONSUMPTION

Abstract

The postwar period had witnessed the prominence of economic growth and the improvement of the standard of living as important considerations of government, as well as one of the central concerns of those who are governed. The post-colonial newly independent states were all concerned with establishing their positions both within their nations and internationally. Economic growth was seen as an important goal to be utilized for these purposes, so that these nations can catch up as quickly as possible with the industrialized Western countries. Among these nations, several countries managed to attain rapid economic growth within a few decades that they have been dubbed variously as the East Asian Miracle, the Four Tigers and so on. Singapore is one of that four. However, with economic affluence comes new problems arising from its very success. Increasingly, people within the affluent society appear to be more and more dissatisfied. These had been termed the paradox of affluence and will be the focus of this study. The study will theorize about the conditions that have given rise to this paradox in Chapter One. Chapter Two focus on the methodological considerations. Chapter Three will analyze material aspirations and the problems of the consumption bind and that of an inflation mentality. Chapter Four and Five will discuss the individual and state strategies of managing material aspirations and Chapter Six will be a concluding statement of the study.