ArpitGarg's Weblog

Recently I received a forwarded email. Author put forward the popular view about Necessities v/s wasteful Luxuries. I didn’t agree with him. Below are the excerpts followed by my reply.

Original Post

1. Author was habitual buyer of wasteful luxuries items. He owned an iPod unused for 6 months; a Handy Cam unused for 2 years; a DVD player unused for last 1 month.
2. He said that people are not happy with what they have. They always strive for bigger car, house, TV, laptop etc. He questions if these things are actually required.
3. I have a LCD TV and a smart phone. “My old man was happier with just a BPL TV and a modest cell phone”, he said.
4. If we strive for things that make life easier rather than so called luxuries, we will be happier.
5. “Our predecessors treated Necessities as Luxuries; we are looking at Luxuries as Necessities”, he concluded.

My Reply

1. The reason of not using a lot of old things is that we get bored after certain time. Simple.
2. Need is a subjective term. Helicopter might be necessity for Narendra Modi but is a luxury for layman like me.
3. Lets stretch authors argument a little. Why even a modest phone when we can post a letter? Why even a BPL TV when we can have newspapers, magazines and kathputali shows?
4. Today I check email on my smart phone, do video conference, relish 3D TV. It’s called technological advancement.
5. Our predecessors had a set of Luxuries and so do we. Flight travel, a luxury earlier is a necessity today. My Dad avoids it still. Does it make me any wrong or him any right?