Day 18: Presence pirates

According to Die Zeit, the average German owns 10000 things. This asks a very fundamental question which is simply, just how many things can one person own?
The basis of capitalism, and why it has aways done so well at lifting communities from poverty, is that assumption that growth is endless and can be found everywhere. Every business plan, and every funding model relies on growth. "If I can't earn more on my money next year than this, I won't lend it to you."
As basic needs were met, production could only keep growing by building redundancy. The 6th pair of shoes you don't wear, the 38 books you never read. According to Die Zeit, human nature kicked in. Perhaps somewhere between 7000 and 8000 things, who knows?

At some point in the past couple of years the rate of new consumption has started to steadily go down. Sure the passion for new smartphones and apps is unabated but something has met a saturation point and growth slowed. Not by much, but just enough to tear holes in the financial markets rapacious need for double digit growth. Like a super saturated solution, a little bump crystalized into rapid, rigid resistance. The Occupy movement, in my mind, is simply the diffuse expression of a saturated society. There is no one galvanizing point or hero. We are dis-eased by the saturated condition.

Is there a way to make capitalism survive on a non-growth model? Economists fear deflation more than the devil. Good luck getting funding for a new business if you don't include at least one or two hockey stick charts. But just like the singularity I wrote about yesterday, there is a theoretical point beyond which people simply cannot consume. Keyenes knew this and he predicted that our generation would meet that saturation point. Advertising and media has done a great job distracting us from realizing that we have actually satisfied basic needs. Production capacity is at a level that could feed the world. There is more than enough clothing, hot and cold running water to keep just about everyone safe and happy.

The fact is though that cash flows are best lubricated by dissatisfaction, not satisfaction. Just as heartbreak is the poet's most productive muse, unsatisfied needs are the marketing man's mantra. The distraction into a world of discontent and inadequacy circles us on Facebook, twitter, the TV, our bank statement. The potential joy of simply being, and being content, is a bounty that presence pirates cannot leave unmolested!

As a business though, there must be an annuity model that is simply content and doesn't demand the destabilization of desires. Consumers are turning redundancy into a tradable good, not requiring new production to satisfy a need. Sven's landlord has set up a social network for the tenants to share drills, ladders and any other things they have laying about. I love Engin's new business idea called "itemology" (Facebook meets amazon marketplace). As businesses figure out how to deal with satisfied, engaged people (rather than "consumers") new definitions and spaces for value will emerge.