One way to understand what is meant by this is to not ask why we buy things, but why we get rid of them, why they're stuffed into closets, garages and rented storage units. They're not being used, nor are they put on display for neighbors to admire. The reason this happens is because the cycle of consumption: buying something new feels exciting, but eventually it loses its appeal and we get bored of it, so we get rid of it and move on to something new. Notice how closely this pattern matches the most common forms of non-religious spirituality, where the dominant mode is "seeking", which really means finding something for a while before moving on to the next thing. Cafeteria spirituality is another related term, to describe an approach to spirituality where traditions are metaphorically represented as food, and the spiritual person as a literal consumer of them.

The cycle of boredom and excitement points to stimulation as important motivation for consumption, but what is stimulated? Obviously the senses in some cases, but more importantly, it's the imagination. When you go out to a restaurant, the raw materials make up a very small part of the total cost. Most of what you're paying for is to have your imagination stimulated, in a way that's very close to reading a book or watching a movie. A large part of the reason for buying a pair of expensive running shoes is that it helps you sustain a pleasurable daydream of yourself as an athlete. You can escape from the mundane ordinariness of everyday life, and imagine yourself in a much more thrilling role, powerful, at the peak of human performance and so on. It's a way to play pretend: today you're an athlete, tomorrow you're an entrepreneur, the next day your a mystic unlocking the secrets of the universe. If you think of these projects as making a movie, consumerism is like set decoration. We need the right props, costumes and locations to make it seem a little more lifelike and believable, but eventually we get bored of the same old story and the costumes go into a box at the back of the closet, and the cycle starts all over again. So the most important fact about our so-called materialistic culture is that we don't care about the physical material at all. What's important to us is imagination, our inner life, having passion and blissful, transcendent subjective experiences. These ideals are at heart of consumerism, which is most obvious when you look at common critiques of consumerism, which claim that the problem with contemporary consumer goods is that they are empty and unsatisfying, unable to properly stimulate us. What's really being said is that consumerism is not consumeristic enough, which confirms that this perception of the problem is part of the problem, so that the most clearest articulation of the consumerist ethic is found in those who loudly claim to oppose it. The most conservative members of society are those who are eagerly awaiting the next big paradigm shift.

Humans have probably always had the capacity to imaginatively project themselves into an alternate world, to imagine what it would be like if things were different. The problems begin when this behavior becomes a cultural imperative, that life isn't worth living without this. Past cultures have emphasized dying on a battlefield with honor as life's goal, or obeying the dictates of your role in society. Our culture emphasizes re-inventing and re-imaginging your identity, becoming something new, finding out who you really are, a journey of self-discovery, all of which are pursued through consumption. In a culture where this is the most important thing in life, it's impossible to confront the problems created by the economic system which sustains that way of life. When spiritual traditions are used to legitimize this idea of living, that means we are digging our heels in even deeper.

And when I say that my experience of spirituality is anti-materialist… what can anyone say to that? If I say that taking refuge in my practices has kept me from spending money unnecessarily, or has helped me find love in my heart instead of searching for it in the market place? What about that is a consumer choice?

One of my biggest personal heroes is Mother Teresa- I have deep respect for Christianity, as I do for all paths.

If someone is going to call spirituality a consumer choice, it makes me wonder what their own relationship to spirituality is. None of my friends or community have that consumer relationship to spirituality. Not my friend the Buddhist priest, nor my friend the Christian pastor, nor my other friend the rabbi, nor the other US-born Muslims in my Sufi community. Nor the other seekers in my life who are sincerely following their heart in an attempt to find love, connection and a deeper sense of truth in this dysfunctional culture we find ourselves in.

I have to admit that I'm very much attracted to religion for many of the reasons you state- that it's not about my preferences, instead it's about surrender to limits and boundaries, about being in service.

I cling to it because without it, it's all too easy to be swept away in the fears and adrenalin in this consumer culture. Too painful for my heart to bear.

Now, this is me responding personally to your comment. That said, there is a sincere sense of seeking in the eclectic spiritual community, people that aren't grounded in a religion. It easy to push all of that aside as mere "consumerism" and seeking some kind of high from workshops, and that is there.

But I think much of it fueled by a sincere desire to know love, to be part of something greater, and the pain people have experienced from the religions-of-birth make it hard to find a home there.

Yes, there is undoubtedly a class issue at work here as well. I just wouldn't want to reduce it to such a one-dimensional critique when talking about such important issues of the heart.
My recent post When the Speed of Business Has Left You In the Dust

There's a critique of this notion of "spirituality as anti-consumerist" I imagine him giving here, which goes something like this (I'm not sure I totally agree however):

–Begin argument–

Spirituality is, in our culture, a consumer choice and is primarily about signaling social status. You have your Sufi stuff, I have my Core Transformation and Vipassana, others have their yoga classes (and mats and bags and water bottles and DVDs and…). We engage in spiritual practice primarily as a means of signaling our social status and group membership. Poor people in the U.S. are religious, but not spiritual. A poor individual may be Baptist, or Evangelical, or perhaps an immigrating Hindu, or a Hispanic Catholic, but is unlikely to be a white Sufi or Buddhist.

In fact, you and I and people like us are perhaps the worst offenders of this spiritual consumerism. While we critique those who buy yoga paraphernalia as spiritual materialism and not "authentic" spirituality, we ourselves use our spirituality as part of our personal brand, part of our sales pitch to get clients and sell more products for our small businesses.

Religion isn't consumerist in the same way because religion is about what is right, not what preference you have that is different from my preference. In fact this is why "spirituality" is hip but "religion" isn't. Religion signals intolerance to the middle to upper class who are hip to spirituality and it's esoteric practices, expensive workshops, and general exclusivity.

–end argument–

Now I don't necessarily disagree with this critique, but I also think that spirituality is potentially accessible to all, that poor religious people (including Christians!) exhibit and experience spirituality in very ordinary experiences like praying to God that they get a job or that someone in their family has their health improve. It's just that "spiritual" circles don't generally recognize Christianity and Christians as spiritual, and usually portray spirituality as something unusual, and worse yet something that requires large sums of money to experience and realize.

"Our psychologies tell us to move up the hierarchy and start working on social issues. But we cannot. We are stuck in our job almost half of our waking lives. And our jobs are not helping us self-actualize. An ennui develops. It is this ennui that Lifestyle Design promises to eliminate by reducing working hours to a minimum. It is an appealing alternative to the corporate job."

Fantastic insight- thank you for that. That alone rocked my world. I can't really take in the rest of the post because I'm taking that in.

It's one of those super-obvious "duh" things that I just never grokked before.

Gratitude-
Mark
My recent post When the Speed of Business Has Left You In the Dust

I think this is an arguable point. Anthropologist in many societies with various levels of consumerism have documented hording behavior. Is it due to a lack of meaning in their relationships? How would you solve this lack of meaning? Through education?

Can everyone do "the work they love?" It seems like just another dream the marketing folks are dangling in front of our eyes.

The media-industrial complex loves to make you feel like your life doesn't have to suck so much. They did not invent that idea. But I am certain they take advantage of it. I don't think satisfying relationships nor the job you love are the panacea of our troubles.
My recent post The uncommon exercise to eliminate stress

I don't mean this as an insult, but Tim Ferriss' blog posts are only popular because he gamed the system, like he usually does with anything he's working on. That's his thing, but taking advantage of loopholes does not add value.

I think the same thing is true of "information products". They either flat-out suck or they are sold entirely on the basis of marketing rhetoric. How many times have you read that the information is freely available but the convenience of reading it in one place is worth the price?

I hope there is a better way, but I am skeptical of finding it myself. I'm not that smart.
My recent post The uncommon exercise to eliminate stress