1:54
Not a new word to describe our society, but our society is more and more tainted by hedonistic ideas. The need for fast and easy lifestyle, being impatient with people who inconvenience our life, the endless need and persuit for money has become the trademark for western lifestyle.
Just watched Newsnight on the tele. The first half of it was on the banks and the excessive bonuses which we expect. Goldman Sachs limiting their top 100 managers in the London office to a mere 1 Million pound bonus each with people below them having the opportunity to earn more. Got my payslip today, my bonus seems somewhat…abismal. Also on the news today, there is an increase in the number of children in the UK who is now suffering from severe poverty, some families trying to feed their family of 4 on a mere 20 pounds a week. They showed all the statistics of where the worst hit places are. As you would expect, Scotland, northern England - the north-south divide thing. But surprisingly, London had the largest figure. 19% of the children here were suffering from severe poverty. In a city where high-fliers limit their bonuses to 1 million pounds per head, we have 1 in 5 children living on ration. I really want to ask, where is the justice?
Here, another example of our hedonistic society - Ted Kennedy’s seat is taken over by an ex-male model for Cosmopolitan magazine. Do we live in a society where we merit the abilty to give us pleasure over the actual ability to make a change?
Haiti…Just got another message asking me to donate. I have been quite reluctant to donate, just like I was quite reluctant to donate to Szechuan Earthquake when it happened. Don’t get me wrong - its not that I am not charitable, when I donate I donate a very handsome amount of money usually for my affordability. However, I am very weary in donating to a highly publicised event orchestrated by the western media, or any media. It seems to me that the whole world has stopped, suffering in Niger, children and women living on the mountains in Afghanistan during these cold months, Northern Sri Lanka where Tamils are fleeing from the government forces and many other problems seem to ceased because CNN and BBC decide to report on Haiti. It is devestating what happened in Haiti, but I believe my money could be used in a much more constructive way instead of aiding the US army orchestrate a spectacular Ãmerica to the rescue’campaign. I feel we are too easily influenced by the media and we don’t stop to think, and we are like herds of sheep following what authority tells us - and usually that is filled with Hedonistic ideas such as those propagated in American Idol and X-Factor.
But hey, who am I to speak? I am also guilty of living a Hedonistic lifestyle. Just today, I was searching up how much it costs to live in the penninsula suite in Peninsula hotel in Hong Kong with 24 hrs cheuffeur service by Rolls Royce. The advertised rate was HK$68,000/night, which works out to be around 5800 pounds. Then I wonder who on earth could afford to stay there. Then as I watched the rolls royce pulls into Goldman Sachs’ headquarter on BBC 10 o’clock news I was reminded of the fact that capitalism demands its people to adopt Hedonism for it to function. If middle class IT professionals don’t spend their money on 40″ TV, how would the investment banks make so much money speculating the price of metal?
We are all just selfish people who want more money and more convenient lifestyle at other people’s expense really. My Chinese colleauge told me in China you can have anything. If you want a star, someone will be able to get it for you. All you really need in life is money.