Commentary: Making a Culture of Creation, Not Consumption

Painter

Throughout history, humankind has excelled in being creative. I’d argue that we still do! Unfortunately, in our modern times, this natural creativity is being pushed aside in favor of our need to consume. This need is just as instinctual, of course; how could we survive if we didn’t consume water, food, sleep, or shelter? We simply have to consume the basic necessities before we can be free to produce anything else. This dichotomy of creativity and consumption is designed as a balance, and generally, it works very well.

We have a modern problem, however. Our natural need to consume has turned into a full-on culture and lifestyle, and it is being systematically progressed by sellers of all sorts. Politics, media, industry, technology, agriculture, and business advertisers everywhere have capitalized on offering us more, more, and more if we only buy their “thing.”

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China Finishes Off Year with Sluggish Growth as Economy Fails to Recover

China flag

China’s economy grew at a rate of 5.2% in 2023, failing to return to the same growth of around 6% year-over-year that was common before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The year’s growth was an improvement on the even worse growth in 2022, which totaled just 3% for that year, and economists expect similar sluggish growth in 2024 unless a big policy change occurs, according to the WSJ. A number of different indicators added to the dismal report, including real growth in urban disposable income, which grew at just 4.8% in 2023 and was the lowest year since 2002, barring 2020 and 2022.

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