This cartoon portraits a strong message about the culture of consumerism in our society. It illustrates the relationship between consumerism and our pursuit of happiness. As you can see, the man has already got everything he wanted, but he is still unhappy and dissatisfied with his life. This is exactly how the society are today.
Due to consumerism, we are made to believe that pursuing trends and getting the things that we want will bring us happiness, satisfaction or improvements into our lives. So we become more materialistic and tend to purchase the things that we “want” rather than “need”. But what we are trying to pursue here, is NOT the true happiness.
It is just our habit of wanting instant gratification which causes us to spend more than what we have earn. In reality, it does not make us any happier because this kind of modern lifestyle is just too expensive and require us to work longer shifts and earn more money to continue buying things that we don’t have just to gain temporary satisfaction. When this instant satisfaction and happiness wears off, this process will repeat again, just like a “rat race“. Is this what we really want? What do you think is the major force that drives consumerism in our society and how can we escape from this “rat race“?
– Soh Hui Qi –
Culture & Ideas 
Greed, is the nature of human being. Everything starts with the that word. “Racing” culture is one of the main reason why people spend more than they actually earn. Human tends to compare with each other with the stuffs that they own. We want to have whatever branded stuffs that others own even though we know that those are inessential, but just to fulfill the desire. Hence, we let the materialistic monster in to possess our minds. Luxury has blinded our eyes as we have forgotten what it means to live within their means and also how to chase our dreams. Besides that, the poor is becoming poorer while the rich is becoming richer. It’s that the government is taking too much of the rich’s money and expansion means more taxes. The human civilization will collapse if the this type of consumerism continues. How to escape from this “rat race”? Try scaling down your personal needs. Buy what you need instead of what you desire. Change your lifestyle habits by buying normal brand goods instead of the expensive labelled goods. Don’t count the things that you don’t have but the other way round. With that, true happiness will automatically knock your door.
by, Cheong Yie Tyn.
While I’m not advocating for the consumerist society that we have today, I have to say that how each person gain their happiness is different. As some may seek solace by indulging themselves with food, some may seek comfort in buying things. For some people, money can in fact, buy happiness. Because maybe it’s these little gratifications that make them happy. So in my humble opinion — let them be. After all, the money that these people spend goes back into the economic loop, giving people jobs and keeping the economy running. People wouldn’t have much “happiness” in a stagnant economy anyway.