Tourists changing the world?

There is a strange tendency during this ‚crisis‘ to portray consumption as kind of a Messiah. As long as people keep buying everything is going to be fine. Central Banks are lowering the interest rates in order to stimulate consumption. Funny enough nobody seems to consider that extensive consumption and private depth actually contributed to this crisis.

However, this myth of the world-changing consumption is nothing new. There are scholars who claim that the Eastern Bloc collapsed because the government were not able to provide people with sufficient opportunities to consume.

Equally nowadays in Europe, people can buy whatever consumer goods in designated shops and contribute to a good cause, to the improvement of our environment etc. Even tourists can do good, by choosing environmental friendly ways of travel or even dedicate their holidays as volunteer tourists to a good task.

All of this is loading consumption with a political value. Of course, there is no way to deny that consumption has big impact in this world. In addition to that all those interpretations of consumption contribute to individualise problems. Now, not a society is responsible for solving problems, like how to use resources in a sustainable way. No, right now, it is the individual in the shop or the tourist who is hold responsible for all those problems. The same individual is even responsible for the financial crisis when it does stop buying.

Sorry, but that is just absurd. And, the worst of it, it takes out the joy from travelling around, having a good coffee. Instead, all of those activities are loaded with values and guilt. The guilt we free ourselves from with additional, but of course more conscious shopping. Our Messiahs of consumption is our Mephisto at the same time.