Can I get a hand analyzing this TED talk? My politico friends and some socialist perspective would be great.

My first reaction to some of the things this guys says is “Fuck you buddy”. Talking as though “the consumer” got us into this financial mess is just a twisted take on reality. When people who are not consulted about the type of society they live in are manipulated by it and follow through, that’s not control and not something to praise people for. While I agree with the idea of “mindful consumption” over “mindless consumption”, the context is all wrong, because businesses benefit from mindless consumption - that’s how capitalism works. After suggesting that we, as consumers, need to be more responsible, he goes on to list some examples of how businesses are finding new opportunities to manipulate people. Wth?

Saying that people are being more responsible because they’re using Debit cards instead of Credit cards is ludicrous, because most of my credit has been downsized by fearful banks. It’s not a choice. Saying that volunteerism is up because employment is down is just twisted. Saying that people are suddenly holding onto their cars longer out of a sense of frugality is idiotic - the real reason is because they can’t afford a new car.

The focus of the talk skews reality to make it seem like people are consuming more responsibly in order to be more responsible - not because they’re forced to by the situation. Some of it, like the DIY and localvore movements have been around for much longer than this recession and deserve respect in their own right. I support the idea of “consumer” power - much of which has to do with the evolution of social media on the web - but playing it as something that is our responsibility to fix and a benefit to businesses just seems messed up.