The Way of Our World

An interesting concept is brought up by Harry Lewis Senior in the very first chapter that really made me think. A salesman tries to sell Lewis Sr. a new tube system for the milking that runs along the ground instead of the by the ceiling. It’s supposedly safer from being broken by any cows that decide to freak out, but other than that, it was the same. His father rebuffs the salesman, asking him, “But would it do anything differently? Won’t it carry milk just like this one does?” (Hamilton 22). He confirms that fact. The Lewis’ stuck with what they had, as they felt the new tubing was just another thing to sell.

This made me think of things now, as a lot of our culture and society is very commercialism based, and material items hold a very high value to us. Always having the biggest, and best of all products.

Phones are an excellent example of this, as people love being able to get the new iPhone. As soon as the newest model is launched, “old” phones are thrown out, despite being only a year or two old, and still working the same as the day they were unpackaged and first turned on. Generally, the new models of iPhones don’t have groundbreaking new features from the one before, maybe a different shape, a better camera, and higher processing speeds that the general public will never notice.

I think if we weren’t so focused on having the latest and greatest all the time, I think our society could be a lot less vapid and wasteful. We don’t really need the new version of what we already have, especially when it’s the same product just with a bigger price tag.