<\/p>\n
by Andrew V. Abela, PhD<\/span><\/h5>\n <\/p>\n
Consumerism arises from a misunderstanding about the meaning of life and the real source of human happiness:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nConsumerism is the mistaken idea that the consumption of things and experiences leads to happiness.<\/span><\/p>\nIt is an addiction to buying things, to spending money, as a solution to the lack of happiness and peace in one\u2019s life, in one\u2019s family.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nI have been asked to make some comments on how participants in this conference can apply Catholic Social Doctrine in their own lives, within their own families, particularly in their consumption decisions. And I have been asked to do this from a practical, not an academic perspective. The specific text from Centesimus Annus that is guiding the comments for this roundtable is:<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Andrew-V.-Abela-PhD.jpg\")
Andrew V. Abela speaks about consumerism and family<\/p><\/div>\n
“In order to overcome today’s widespread individualistic mentality, what is required is a concrete commitment to solidarity and charity, beginning in the family with the mutual support of husband and wife and the care which the different generations give to one another. In this sense the family too can be called a community of work and solidarity.”<\/span> (Pope St. John Paul II, 49)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nSo the question I\u2019m going to address is how do we apply solidarity and charity in the family in our consumption decisions: in our decisions about what to buy, what to eat, what kinds of entertainment; for ourselves and for our children.<\/span><\/p>\n\nConsumerism arises from a misunderstanding about the meaning of life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe biggest challenge we face in trying to make these decisions well is the temptation of disordered consumption<\/span>\u2014of consumerism, which is the addiction to what Pope St. John Paul II called the <\/span>“web of false and superficial gratifications”.<\/span> (Centesimus Annus, 41)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTwo years ago I spoke in this conference about how consumerism arises from a misunderstanding about the meaning of life and the real source of human happiness: consumerism is the mistaken idea that the consumption of things and experiences leads to happiness. It is an addiction to buying things, to spending money, as a solution to the lack of happiness and peace in one\u2019s life, in one\u2019s family.<\/span><\/p>\nI quoted the Pope\u2019s proposed response to consumerism, which is to allow <\/span>“truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others”<\/span> (Pope St. John Paul II, 36)<\/a><\/span><\/span> <\/span>to guide our choices as consumers and investors. Today what I\u2019d like to do is go into more detail about this, about how we might go about promoting lifestyles of truth, beauty, goodness, and communion with others, in our families.<\/span><\/p>\nA useful guide, as we go through this, is the German philosopher Joseph Pieper\u2019s clarification, in his book Leisure the Basis of Culture, of what true leisure is.\u00a0 Leisure is what we do for its own sake; work is what we do for some other purpose.\u00a0 God created us as free human beings.\u00a0 We live that freedom best in leisure.\u00a0 It is true that some people are free to make choices about what kind of work to do, how and where to do it, and so on, but it remains the case that when we work, we work for some purpose other than the work itself: for money, for prestige, out of a sense of responsibility.\u00a0 None of these are bad things, of course, but it remains the case that work always serves something else, while leisure, properly understood, is an exercise in freedom.<\/span><\/p>\nSo, What Does True Leisure Look Like?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Is working out in a gymnasium leisure?\u00a0 It depends: are you doing it for the fun of it, or are you doing it to lose weight, or to improve your physique?\u00a0 If the latter, then it\u2019s not leisure\u2014it is servile, it is serving the purpose of losing weight or improving your physique.\u00a0 Again, these are not bad things; they are important in their own ways, even necessary in some cases.\u00a0 But they are not leisure. Here\u2019s a good test: if the same result could be accomplished by taking a pill, for example, would you still do it?\u00a0 If no, then you\u2019re not doing it for its own sake, so it\u2019s not authentic leisure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nWhy is this so important?\u00a0 For many reasons, of course, but let me focus on one.\u00a0 Two Christian psychiatrists, Drs. Conrad Baars and Anna Terruwe, made a strong case that if all your focus is on achievement, rather than on leisure, then you\u2014and particularly your children\u2014never reach true emotional maturity. (cf. e.g. Psychic Wellness and Healing, (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1981)<\/span>)<\/a> You will never reach that feeling of being loved and being valuable just for who you are.\u00a0 You\u2019ll spend your time trying to achieve things, to prove to others that you are worthwhile. Lacking a feeling of being loved, you will never be able to love others very well.\u00a0 Because it is paradoxically in the act of letting go of your own achievements that you come to know your own worth\u2014that you open yourself up to knowing the Father\u2019s love for you.<\/span><\/p>\nAuthentic leisure, therefore, leads to emotional maturity, greater peace and happiness, and a greater ability to give of ourselves to others.<\/span><\/p>\nSo the first suggestion, if you want to build lifestyles of truth, beauty, goodness and communion, is to spend time as a family on authentic leisure\u2014doing things that are worthwhile in themselves, joyful in themselves, rather than doing utilitarian, servile things.\u00a0 More time making music, reading aloud, going for hikes or picnics, together, and less time on work at the office, school, or even in the home.\u00a0 Of course, work is important and necessary, and work in the home, together as a family, is vitally important for strengthening the family, as the sociologist Allan Carlson has argued (From Cottage to Work Station: The Family’s Search for Social harmony in the Industrial Age, (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1993))<\/span> \u2014but leisure is vital also.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t think there is much danger that the people in this room are not working hard enough.\u00a0 I suspect that the danger is in the opposite direction: and if all our time is spent on servile work, our children will never reach the emotional maturity they need to in order to live out a commitment to solidarity and charity.<\/span><\/p>\nWork less\u2014play more.\u00a0 Why would that be a hard message? But it is, isn\u2019t it? Ironically, in this area, what makes it harder is something that is making life easier in so many other ways\u2014technology.\u00a0 According to the philosopher Albert Borgmann, technology is a major cause of disordered consumption, in large part because it allows us to separate pleasure from the effort that it would take to realize that pleasure, and therefore from the natural limits to the enjoyment of the pleasure.\u00a0 If you have to cook every meal from the raw ingredients, there\u2019s not much chance you\u2019re going to get terribly overweight.\u00a0 But if you can microwave a prepared meal, and in addition have as many pre-packaged snacks as you want, then you can consume to excess much more easily.\u00a0 Hence we have this massive obesity problem, not just in the United States now, but here in Europe also; one recent study showed that 45% of Italian children between ages 5 and 13 are overweight. (Freeman, David W., “American Kids Aren’t the Fattest After All: Go Spain and Italy!” CBSNews, 25 June 2010)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThis Lack of Limits Can be Seen Very Clearly in Videogames<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Videogames give us the pleasure of games, without as much effort. If children had nothing to do except play soccer\/football, they would do that for a few hours, but eventually the need for rest and food would overpower the desire for more football, and so there\u2019s a natural limit.\u00a0 This does not appear to be the situation with videogames. There are several documented cases of people who have played videogames non-stop until they literally fell down dead; a Korean man a few years ago played the game Starcraft for 50 hours without break, and then died of exhaustion. (Naughton, Philippe, \u201cKorean drops dead after 50-hour gaming marathon,\u201d Times Online, August 10, 2005)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\nAs a result, young people today spend an enormous amount of time playing videogames; by one estimate, 10,000 hours before they reach the age of 21. (McGonigal, Jane, Reality is Broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. New York, NY: Penguin, 2011)<\/span> Now if it\u2019s fun for them, then why is this a problem?\u00a0 If they are doing it for its own sake, then isn\u2019t this an example of authentic leisure, according to Pieper? The problem is, first, because anything done to excess is harmful, physically\u2014people get fat from eating too much, and they die from playing video games for too long.<\/span><\/p>\nBut more importantly, it\u2019s because pleasurable activities where the pleasure is easily to get, tend to crowd out other activities, where we have to put in more effort to get enjoyment.<\/span><\/p>\n\nWe have two opposite problems: we spend too much of our time on results…on work [and] we look for pleasure without effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nAnd the specific activities that are crowded out, according to Borgmann, are the things that have \u201ca life and dignity of their own.\u201d\u00a0 They are the things that our civilization\u2014and most civilizations\u2014have valued as the greatest in terms of truth, beauty, and goodness: the beauty of nature, great art, music, theatre.\u00a0 Things that you can wonder at again and again, things that you never get tired of, so you don\u2019t need a constant supply of new pleasures.\u00a0 But you need to spend time with such things in order to appreciate them, and it takes some effort.<\/span><\/p>\nThe problem with artificial pleasures, from video games or from processed foods, is that all they deliver is pleasure.\u00a0 Whereas when you spend time playing the piano, for example (and here I\u2019m talking about playing for fun, not practicing because your parents made you do it), you get both the pleasure of the music, and you get a little bit better at playing the piano.\u00a0 Getting better is not the purpose, but it happens anyway.\u00a0 Likewise when you cook a great meal, you get the enjoyment of cooking the meal and eating it, and you also improve your cooking skill.<\/span><\/p>\nSo we have two opposite problems. On the one hand, we spend too much of our time on things that give us results, on work. On the other hand, we look for pleasure without effort. It\u2019s not really surprising: if we spend all our time working, we need to find ways to get our pleasure very efficiently, because we don\u2019t have much time left for it!\u00a0 But neither of these things fosters lifestyles of truth, beauty, and goodness.\u00a0 Instead what we need are activities which are pleasurable in themselves, and which also engage us with things of dignity and wonder.<\/span><\/p>\nI mentioned that on average children will spend 10,000 hours playing videogames by the time they reach the age of 21.\u00a0 That 10,000 hours is a magic number: it is the number commonly understood to be the requirement for achieving a world-class standard in any skill: piano, football, chess, basketball, whatever. (Ericsson, K. A. and A. C. Lehmann \u201cExpert and Exceptional Performance: Evidence of Maximal Adaptation to Task Constraints.\u201d Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 47: 273-305 (February 1996))<\/span> In this context, it would seem that 10,000 hours of videogaming is a terrible waste.\u00a0 What do you think will lead to more long term satisfaction and happiness for your child, and his or her future family: having the abilities of a concert pianist, or being outstanding at videogames?<\/span><\/p>\nWhy is playing piano\u2014or playing football\u2014better in terms of leisure than playing video games?<\/span><\/p>\nIt\u2019s because leisure activities performed without much use of technology have more dignity, more scope for wonder, than leisure activities that are dependent on technology.<\/span><\/p>\nFootball has more dignity than videogames, because it has more depth and breadth to it. More depth, because technology is typically designed for a specific purpose, and therefore the activities it facilitates are pre-determined, and tend to lack the depth of more natural activity. And more breadth, because technology is designed to be as efficient as possible to achieve its intended goal\u2014pleasure in this case\u2014so it does not engage as much breadth of human activity as more natural activities do.<\/span><\/p>\nLet\u2019s stay with the comparison of playing football vs. playing a video game.\u00a0 Every time people get together to play a game of football, it is a different game.\u00a0 There is a depth to it; you could play football all your life, and never say: oh yes, we\u2019ve played this one before\u2014how boring.\u00a0 Whereas with a video game, you get tired of it\u2014that\u2019s why individual games have to come programmed with different levels of play, to keep you interested, and that\u2019s why there\u2019s such a flood of new videogames coming out all the time.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd if you never get bored of football, how much more true is this for something with still greater dignity, such as great literature.\u00a0 For really great books, you can read them again and again and keep getting more out of them each time (that in fact is the definition of a Great Book).\u00a0 Right now I\u2019m reading Victor Hugo\u2019s Les Miserables for the second time in my life (all 900 pages) and I\u2019m getting a lot more from it, and enjoying it more, than from the first time I read it.<\/span><\/p>\nIt’s not just deapth of engagement, it’s breadth. With a videogame you use hand-eye coordination, and maybe some logical problem-solving skills. With football you use your physical skills, mental endurance, leadership, even your social skills.<\/span><\/p>\nDon\u2019t get me wrong: I\u2019m not against technology. I own three laptops, personally\u2014a Mac, a PC, and a netbook\u2014and an iPad.\u00a0 But I use them all for work; I try to stay away from them during my leisure time.<\/span><\/p>\n\nFamilies who spend fewer meal times together have greater tension.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThink of something as mundane as family dinner.\u00a0 You could think of it as just work: we need to provide so many calories to the family per day\u2014what\u2019s the most efficient way to do so?\u00a0 Perhaps each member of the family eats their own meal, while doing homework, or watching TV\u2014or maybe it\u2019s not even a meal, just a series of snacks.\u00a0 Or you could look at it as a form of leisure, where the joy of cooking and eating it, and the conversation around it, is more important than the nutrition.\u00a0 Not every night, perhaps, maybe just on special days, on feast days.\u00a0 People still get the nutrition, but that is more of a by-product. <\/span><\/p>\nThe main point is the joy of the meal, as a family.<\/span><\/p>\nDoes something like how we think of family meals really make a difference?\u00a0 My colleague at the Catholic University of America, the economist Dr. Maria Sophia Aguirre, has published a paper reviewing the research on the importance of family dinners\u2014there really is such research\u2014and she has found a number of interesting things: families who spend fewer meal times together have greater tension in the family, and the children are less likely to speak to their parents about concerns they have.\u00a0 In such families, the children do worse in school, and are more likely to do drugs. (Aguirre, M.S. \u201cFamily Dining, Diet and Food Distribution: Planting the Seeds of Economic Growth,\u201d in Excellence in the Home Conference: Balanced Diet, Balanced Life, London, May 8-9, 2006.)<\/span>\u00a0 All this, from something as simple as family meals together.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat we\u2019re talking about here is really a more direct engagement with life, with our families, unmediated by technology. But this is a challenge, and it is only getting harder.\u00a0 One of the newest emerging trends in marketing, for example, is what is called \u201cgamification.\u201d Gamification is the attempt to make more aspects of life\u2014particularly our life as consumers\u2014more like videogames.\u00a0 Using the lessons of what makes videogames addicting, marketers are trying to redesign their retail websites and mobile apps to make them more like videogames, and hence more addictive to us. (Cf. Zichermann, G. and C. Cunningham, Gamification by Design (Sebastopol, CA: O\u2019Reilly Media, 2011))<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nTo counter this, I have suggested three things:<\/span><\/p>\n1. Spend time as a family on authentic leisure, activites that are worthwhile for their own sakes.<\/span><\/h5>\n2. Be willing to put in the extra effort that engaging with things of dignity and wonder require, unmediated by technology; it\u2019s worth it.<\/span><\/h5>\n3. Start with making home-made family dinners a priority.<\/span><\/h5>\nThank you.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat is Family?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nTop Magisterial Quotes about Family<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nWhat is Marriage?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nThe Top Marriage Quotes from the Church<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nWhy is Family Important?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nHealthy Families are the Future<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nIs Family Life Today Under Attack?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nTypes of Families and New Definitions<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nWhat Does the Bible Say About Divorce?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nRediscovering the Power of Fatherhood<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nThe Importance of Motherhood<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nLearning from the Holy Family<\/a><\/span><\/p>\nAn Old Fashioned Christmas<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/the-family\/” button_text=”More About the Family” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/catholic-social-teaching-principles\/” button_text=”What are the Three Principles?” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/articles” button_text=”Back to Articles” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” locked=”off” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_text_color=”#054368″ header_font=”||||||||” header_text_color=”#eb7425″ width=”81%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
The Four Pathologies<\/h1>\n<\/h5>\nThe Church\u00a0identifies four dangers or major \u2018risks and problems\u2019<\/b>\u00a0eating away at the cultural, economic, and political systems\u00a0and begins to identify how to cure them<\/b>.<\/h5>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_slider show_image_video_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Pathology Widget” module_id=”issues-slider” module_class=”three-principles” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_color=”#084369″ header_font_size=”24px” header_line_height=”1.5em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_color=”#084369″ custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”750ms” custom_css_slide_image=”width: 300px !important;||margin: 0 auto !important;” global_module=”30885″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_slide heading=”Consumerism” button_link=”\/consumerism\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon3.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/consumerism\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n
\u201cThe exclusive pursuit of material possessions prevents man’s growth as a human being and stands in opposition to his true grandeur.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. Paul VI, 19)<\/span> A person who is concerned solely or primarily with possessing and enjoying \u2013 who can no longer subordinate his instincts – cannot be free.<\/span><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Environmental Degradation” button_link=”\/environmental-degradation\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon1.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#054368″ header_font_size=”30px” header_line_height=”1.5em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#054368″ background_color=”#ffffff” transform_translate_linked=”off” link_option_url=”\/environmental-degradation\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n
Both our physical and human environment are at risk and the Church insists we ignore neither! \u201cIt is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves. The book of nature is one and indivisible: it takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development.”<\/span>\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 51)<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Alienation” button_link=”\/alienation\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon2.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/alienation\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n
We are losing the \u201cauthentic meaning of life\u201d!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>When we\u00a0<\/span>refuse to transcend ourselves \u201cand to live the experience of self-giving”.<\/span>\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 41)<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span> when society \u201cis marked by a \u2018globalization of indifference\u2019 that makes us\u2026closed in on ourselves.\u201d (Pope Francis, 1)<\/a> \u00a0both the individual and society are alienated.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Radical Secularism” button_link=”\/under-development\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon4.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/under-development\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n
\u201cThe greatest challenge of our time is secularization\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 3)<\/em><\/span>\u200b<\/a>\u00a0Why? Radical secularism holds that there is no such thing as an objective truth. But, \u201cWithout truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 5)<\/em>\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_slide][\/et_pb_slider][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”Image & Text” module_id=”newsletter” module_class=”mosaic_width” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”#eb7525″ z_index=”950″ display_conditions=”W3siaWQiOiI2MmUwMjk2ZS1lYmY5LTQwYWYtYmM0Mi0zZmEzYzUyNGNlYTEiLCJjb25kaXRpb24iOiJwYWdlIiwiY29uZGl0aW9uU2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiZGlzcGxheVJ1bGUiOiJpc05vdCIsImR5bmFtaWNQb3N0cyI6W3sibGFiZWwiOiJDYXJpdGFzIGluIFZlcml0YXRlIiwidmFsdWUiOiI0NzIxNCJ9XSwicG9zdFR5cGVMYWJlbCI6IlBhZ2VzIiwiYWRtaW5MYWJlbCI6IlBhZ2VzIiwiZW5hYmxlQ29uZGl0aW9uIjoib24ifSwib3BlcmF0b3IiOiJPUiJ9XQ==” custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” animation_direction=”left” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_module=”45073″ saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ make_equal=”on” module_class=”mosaic_width” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” animation_style=”fade” animation_delay=”200ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”ds-vertical-align” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”Playfair Display||||||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#eb7525″ header_2_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_font_size=”30px” header_4_font=”Playfair Display|700|||||||” header_4_text_color=”#ffffff” header_4_font_size=”32px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
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Consumerism is the mistaken idea that the consumption of things and experiences leads to happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n It is an addiction to buying things, to spending money, as a solution to the lack of happiness and peace in one\u2019s life, in one\u2019s family.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I have been asked to make some comments on how participants in this conference can apply Catholic Social Doctrine in their own lives, within their own families, particularly in their consumption decisions. And I have been asked to do this from a practical, not an academic perspective. The specific text from Centesimus Annus that is guiding the comments for this roundtable is:<\/span><\/p>\n Andrew V. Abela speaks about consumerism and family<\/p><\/div>\n “In order to overcome today’s widespread individualistic mentality, what is required is a concrete commitment to solidarity and charity, beginning in the family with the mutual support of husband and wife and the care which the different generations give to one another. In this sense the family too can be called a community of work and solidarity.”<\/span> (Pope St. John Paul II, 49)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So the question I\u2019m going to address is how do we apply solidarity and charity in the family in our consumption decisions: in our decisions about what to buy, what to eat, what kinds of entertainment; for ourselves and for our children.<\/span><\/p>\n Consumerism arises from a misunderstanding about the meaning of life.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The biggest challenge we face in trying to make these decisions well is the temptation of disordered consumption<\/span>\u2014of consumerism, which is the addiction to what Pope St. John Paul II called the <\/span>“web of false and superficial gratifications”.<\/span> (Centesimus Annus, 41)<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Two years ago I spoke in this conference about how consumerism arises from a misunderstanding about the meaning of life and the real source of human happiness: consumerism is the mistaken idea that the consumption of things and experiences leads to happiness. It is an addiction to buying things, to spending money, as a solution to the lack of happiness and peace in one\u2019s life, in one\u2019s family.<\/span><\/p>\n I quoted the Pope\u2019s proposed response to consumerism, which is to allow <\/span>“truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others”<\/span> (Pope St. John Paul II, 36)<\/a><\/span><\/span> <\/span>to guide our choices as consumers and investors. Today what I\u2019d like to do is go into more detail about this, about how we might go about promoting lifestyles of truth, beauty, goodness, and communion with others, in our families.<\/span><\/p>\n A useful guide, as we go through this, is the German philosopher Joseph Pieper\u2019s clarification, in his book Leisure the Basis of Culture, of what true leisure is.\u00a0 Leisure is what we do for its own sake; work is what we do for some other purpose.\u00a0 God created us as free human beings.\u00a0 We live that freedom best in leisure.\u00a0 It is true that some people are free to make choices about what kind of work to do, how and where to do it, and so on, but it remains the case that when we work, we work for some purpose other than the work itself: for money, for prestige, out of a sense of responsibility.\u00a0 None of these are bad things, of course, but it remains the case that work always serves something else, while leisure, properly understood, is an exercise in freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n Why is this so important?\u00a0 For many reasons, of course, but let me focus on one.\u00a0 Two Christian psychiatrists, Drs. Conrad Baars and Anna Terruwe, made a strong case that if all your focus is on achievement, rather than on leisure, then you\u2014and particularly your children\u2014never reach true emotional maturity. (cf. e.g. Psychic Wellness and Healing, (Staten Island, NY: Alba House, 1981)<\/span>)<\/a> You will never reach that feeling of being loved and being valuable just for who you are.\u00a0 You\u2019ll spend your time trying to achieve things, to prove to others that you are worthwhile. Lacking a feeling of being loved, you will never be able to love others very well.\u00a0 Because it is paradoxically in the act of letting go of your own achievements that you come to know your own worth\u2014that you open yourself up to knowing the Father\u2019s love for you.<\/span><\/p>\n Authentic leisure, therefore, leads to emotional maturity, greater peace and happiness, and a greater ability to give of ourselves to others.<\/span><\/p>\n So the first suggestion, if you want to build lifestyles of truth, beauty, goodness and communion, is to spend time as a family on authentic leisure\u2014doing things that are worthwhile in themselves, joyful in themselves, rather than doing utilitarian, servile things.\u00a0 More time making music, reading aloud, going for hikes or picnics, together, and less time on work at the office, school, or even in the home.\u00a0 Of course, work is important and necessary, and work in the home, together as a family, is vitally important for strengthening the family, as the sociologist Allan Carlson has argued (From Cottage to Work Station: The Family’s Search for Social harmony in the Industrial Age, (San Francisco, CA: Ignatius Press, 1993))<\/span> \u2014but leisure is vital also.\u00a0 And I don\u2019t think there is much danger that the people in this room are not working hard enough.\u00a0 I suspect that the danger is in the opposite direction: and if all our time is spent on servile work, our children will never reach the emotional maturity they need to in order to live out a commitment to solidarity and charity.<\/span><\/p>\n Work less\u2014play more.\u00a0 Why would that be a hard message? But it is, isn\u2019t it? Ironically, in this area, what makes it harder is something that is making life easier in so many other ways\u2014technology.\u00a0 According to the philosopher Albert Borgmann, technology is a major cause of disordered consumption, in large part because it allows us to separate pleasure from the effort that it would take to realize that pleasure, and therefore from the natural limits to the enjoyment of the pleasure.\u00a0 If you have to cook every meal from the raw ingredients, there\u2019s not much chance you\u2019re going to get terribly overweight.\u00a0 But if you can microwave a prepared meal, and in addition have as many pre-packaged snacks as you want, then you can consume to excess much more easily.\u00a0 Hence we have this massive obesity problem, not just in the United States now, but here in Europe also; one recent study showed that 45% of Italian children between ages 5 and 13 are overweight. (Freeman, David W., “American Kids Aren’t the Fattest After All: Go Spain and Italy!” CBSNews, 25 June 2010)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As a result, young people today spend an enormous amount of time playing videogames; by one estimate, 10,000 hours before they reach the age of 21. (McGonigal, Jane, Reality is Broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. New York, NY: Penguin, 2011)<\/span> Now if it\u2019s fun for them, then why is this a problem?\u00a0 If they are doing it for its own sake, then isn\u2019t this an example of authentic leisure, according to Pieper? The problem is, first, because anything done to excess is harmful, physically\u2014people get fat from eating too much, and they die from playing video games for too long.<\/span><\/p>\n But more importantly, it\u2019s because pleasurable activities where the pleasure is easily to get, tend to crowd out other activities, where we have to put in more effort to get enjoyment.<\/span><\/p>\n We have two opposite problems: we spend too much of our time on results…on work [and] we look for pleasure without effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n And the specific activities that are crowded out, according to Borgmann, are the things that have \u201ca life and dignity of their own.\u201d\u00a0 They are the things that our civilization\u2014and most civilizations\u2014have valued as the greatest in terms of truth, beauty, and goodness: the beauty of nature, great art, music, theatre.\u00a0 Things that you can wonder at again and again, things that you never get tired of, so you don\u2019t need a constant supply of new pleasures.\u00a0 But you need to spend time with such things in order to appreciate them, and it takes some effort.<\/span><\/p>\n The problem with artificial pleasures, from video games or from processed foods, is that all they deliver is pleasure.\u00a0 Whereas when you spend time playing the piano, for example (and here I\u2019m talking about playing for fun, not practicing because your parents made you do it), you get both the pleasure of the music, and you get a little bit better at playing the piano.\u00a0 Getting better is not the purpose, but it happens anyway.\u00a0 Likewise when you cook a great meal, you get the enjoyment of cooking the meal and eating it, and you also improve your cooking skill.<\/span><\/p>\n So we have two opposite problems. On the one hand, we spend too much of our time on things that give us results, on work. On the other hand, we look for pleasure without effort. It\u2019s not really surprising: if we spend all our time working, we need to find ways to get our pleasure very efficiently, because we don\u2019t have much time left for it!\u00a0 But neither of these things fosters lifestyles of truth, beauty, and goodness.\u00a0 Instead what we need are activities which are pleasurable in themselves, and which also engage us with things of dignity and wonder.<\/span><\/p>\n I mentioned that on average children will spend 10,000 hours playing videogames by the time they reach the age of 21.\u00a0 That 10,000 hours is a magic number: it is the number commonly understood to be the requirement for achieving a world-class standard in any skill: piano, football, chess, basketball, whatever. (Ericsson, K. A. and A. C. Lehmann \u201cExpert and Exceptional Performance: Evidence of Maximal Adaptation to Task Constraints.\u201d Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 47: 273-305 (February 1996))<\/span> In this context, it would seem that 10,000 hours of videogaming is a terrible waste.\u00a0 What do you think will lead to more long term satisfaction and happiness for your child, and his or her future family: having the abilities of a concert pianist, or being outstanding at videogames?<\/span><\/p>\n Why is playing piano\u2014or playing football\u2014better in terms of leisure than playing video games?<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s because leisure activities performed without much use of technology have more dignity, more scope for wonder, than leisure activities that are dependent on technology.<\/span><\/p>\n Football has more dignity than videogames, because it has more depth and breadth to it. More depth, because technology is typically designed for a specific purpose, and therefore the activities it facilitates are pre-determined, and tend to lack the depth of more natural activity. And more breadth, because technology is designed to be as efficient as possible to achieve its intended goal\u2014pleasure in this case\u2014so it does not engage as much breadth of human activity as more natural activities do.<\/span><\/p>\n Let\u2019s stay with the comparison of playing football vs. playing a video game.\u00a0 Every time people get together to play a game of football, it is a different game.\u00a0 There is a depth to it; you could play football all your life, and never say: oh yes, we\u2019ve played this one before\u2014how boring.\u00a0 Whereas with a video game, you get tired of it\u2014that\u2019s why individual games have to come programmed with different levels of play, to keep you interested, and that\u2019s why there\u2019s such a flood of new videogames coming out all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n And if you never get bored of football, how much more true is this for something with still greater dignity, such as great literature.\u00a0 For really great books, you can read them again and again and keep getting more out of them each time (that in fact is the definition of a Great Book).\u00a0 Right now I\u2019m reading Victor Hugo\u2019s Les Miserables for the second time in my life (all 900 pages) and I\u2019m getting a lot more from it, and enjoying it more, than from the first time I read it.<\/span><\/p>\n It’s not just deapth of engagement, it’s breadth. With a videogame you use hand-eye coordination, and maybe some logical problem-solving skills. With football you use your physical skills, mental endurance, leadership, even your social skills.<\/span><\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong: I\u2019m not against technology. I own three laptops, personally\u2014a Mac, a PC, and a netbook\u2014and an iPad.\u00a0 But I use them all for work; I try to stay away from them during my leisure time.<\/span><\/p>\n Families who spend fewer meal times together have greater tension.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Think of something as mundane as family dinner.\u00a0 You could think of it as just work: we need to provide so many calories to the family per day\u2014what\u2019s the most efficient way to do so?\u00a0 Perhaps each member of the family eats their own meal, while doing homework, or watching TV\u2014or maybe it\u2019s not even a meal, just a series of snacks.\u00a0 Or you could look at it as a form of leisure, where the joy of cooking and eating it, and the conversation around it, is more important than the nutrition.\u00a0 Not every night, perhaps, maybe just on special days, on feast days.\u00a0 People still get the nutrition, but that is more of a by-product. <\/span><\/p>\n The main point is the joy of the meal, as a family.<\/span><\/p>\n Does something like how we think of family meals really make a difference?\u00a0 My colleague at the Catholic University of America, the economist Dr. Maria Sophia Aguirre, has published a paper reviewing the research on the importance of family dinners\u2014there really is such research\u2014and she has found a number of interesting things: families who spend fewer meal times together have greater tension in the family, and the children are less likely to speak to their parents about concerns they have.\u00a0 In such families, the children do worse in school, and are more likely to do drugs. (Aguirre, M.S. \u201cFamily Dining, Diet and Food Distribution: Planting the Seeds of Economic Growth,\u201d in Excellence in the Home Conference: Balanced Diet, Balanced Life, London, May 8-9, 2006.)<\/span>\u00a0 All this, from something as simple as family meals together.<\/span><\/p>\n What we\u2019re talking about here is really a more direct engagement with life, with our families, unmediated by technology. But this is a challenge, and it is only getting harder.\u00a0 One of the newest emerging trends in marketing, for example, is what is called \u201cgamification.\u201d Gamification is the attempt to make more aspects of life\u2014particularly our life as consumers\u2014more like videogames.\u00a0 Using the lessons of what makes videogames addicting, marketers are trying to redesign their retail websites and mobile apps to make them more like videogames, and hence more addictive to us. (Cf. Zichermann, G. and C. Cunningham, Gamification by Design (Sebastopol, CA: O\u2019Reilly Media, 2011))<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n To counter this, I have suggested three things:<\/span><\/p>\n Thank you.<\/span><\/p>\n What is Family?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Top Magisterial Quotes about Family<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n What is Marriage?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The Top Marriage Quotes from the Church<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Why is Family Important?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Healthy Families are the Future<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Is Family Life Today Under Attack?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Types of Families and New Definitions<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n What Does the Bible Say About Divorce?<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Rediscovering the Power of Fatherhood<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n The Importance of Motherhood<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Learning from the Holy Family<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n An Old Fashioned Christmas<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/the-family\/” button_text=”More About the Family” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/catholic-social-teaching-principles\/” button_text=”What are the Three Principles?” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.27.5″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” hover_enabled=”0″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″ sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.16″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_button button_url=”\/articles” button_text=”Back to Articles” button_alignment=”center” module_class=”hover-btn-border” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_button=”on” button_text_size=”30px” button_text_color=”#054368″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|600||on|||||” button_icon=”5||divi||400″ button_on_hover=”off” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_text_color__hover=”#054368″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” locked=”off” collapsed=”on” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_5,3_5,1_5″ use_custom_gutter=”on” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.16″ width=”100%” max_width=”100%” custom_margin=”0px|0px|0px|0px” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_text_color=”#054368″ header_font=”||||||||” header_text_color=”#eb7425″ width=”81%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_slider show_image_video_mobile=”on” admin_label=”Pathology Widget” module_id=”issues-slider” module_class=”three-principles” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_color=”#084369″ header_font_size=”24px” header_line_height=”1.5em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_color=”#084369″ custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”|||” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”||||false|false” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”750ms” custom_css_slide_image=”width: 300px !important;||margin: 0 auto !important;” global_module=”30885″ saved_tabs=”all” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_slide heading=”Consumerism” button_link=”\/consumerism\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon3.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/consumerism\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n \u201cThe exclusive pursuit of material possessions prevents man’s growth as a human being and stands in opposition to his true grandeur.\u201d\u00a0(Pope St. Paul VI, 19)<\/span> A person who is concerned solely or primarily with possessing and enjoying \u2013 who can no longer subordinate his instincts – cannot be free.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Environmental Degradation” button_link=”\/environmental-degradation\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon1.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#054368″ header_font_size=”30px” header_line_height=”1.5em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_align=”center” body_text_color=”#054368″ background_color=”#ffffff” transform_translate_linked=”off” link_option_url=”\/environmental-degradation\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n Both our physical and human environment are at risk and the Church insists we ignore neither! \u201cIt is contradictory to insist that future generations respect the natural environment when our educational systems and laws do not help them to respect themselves. The book of nature is one and indivisible: it takes in not only the environment but also life, sexuality, marriage, the family, social relations: in a word, integral human development.”<\/span>\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 51)<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Alienation” button_link=”\/alienation\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon2.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/alienation\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n We are losing the \u201cauthentic meaning of life\u201d!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>When we\u00a0<\/span>refuse to transcend ourselves \u201cand to live the experience of self-giving”.<\/span>\u00a0(Pope St. John Paul II, 41)<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/span> when society \u201cis marked by a \u2018globalization of indifference\u2019 that makes us\u2026closed in on ourselves.\u201d (Pope Francis, 1)<\/a> \u00a0both the individual and society are alienated.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_slide][et_pb_slide heading=”Radical Secularism” button_link=”\/under-development\/” image=”https:\/\/capp-usa.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/icon4.png” _builder_version=”4.19.1″ header_font=”Open Sans|700|||||||” header_text_align=”center” background_color=”#ffffff” link_option_url=”\/under-development\/” global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_transition=”on”]<\/p>\n \u201cThe greatest challenge of our time is secularization\u201d (Pope Benedict XVI, 3)<\/em><\/span>\u200b<\/a>\u00a0Why? Radical secularism holds that there is no such thing as an objective truth. But, \u201cWithout truth, without trust and love for what is true, there is no social conscience and responsibility, and social action ends up serving private interests and the logic of power.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(Pope Benedict XVI, 5)<\/em>\u200b<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_slide][\/et_pb_slider][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_5″ _builder_version=”4.16″ global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” admin_label=”Image & Text” module_id=”newsletter” module_class=”mosaic_width” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ background_color=”#eb7525″ z_index=”950″ display_conditions=”W3siaWQiOiI2MmUwMjk2ZS1lYmY5LTQwYWYtYmM0Mi0zZmEzYzUyNGNlYTEiLCJjb25kaXRpb24iOiJwYWdlIiwiY29uZGl0aW9uU2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiZGlzcGxheVJ1bGUiOiJpc05vdCIsImR5bmFtaWNQb3N0cyI6W3sibGFiZWwiOiJDYXJpdGFzIGluIFZlcml0YXRlIiwidmFsdWUiOiI0NzIxNCJ9XSwicG9zdFR5cGVMYWJlbCI6IlBhZ2VzIiwiYWRtaW5MYWJlbCI6IlBhZ2VzIiwiZW5hYmxlQ29uZGl0aW9uIjoib24ifSwib3BlcmF0b3IiOiJPUiJ9XQ==” custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_tablet=”0px||0px||false|false” custom_padding_phone=”0px||0px||false|false” animation_direction=”left” da_disable_devices=”off|off|off” global_module=”45073″ saved_tabs=”all” locked=”off” collapsed=”off” global_colors_info=”{}” da_is_popup=”off” da_exit_intent=”off” da_has_close=”on” da_alt_close=”off” da_dark_close=”off” da_not_modal=”on” da_is_singular=”off” da_with_loader=”off” da_has_shadow=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ make_equal=”on” module_class=”mosaic_width” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”0px||0px||true|false” animation_style=”fade” animation_delay=”200ms” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”ds-vertical-align” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.16″ text_font=”Playfair Display||||||||” text_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font=”||||||||” header_text_align=”center” header_text_color=”#eb7525″ header_2_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_text_color=”#ffffff” header_3_font_size=”30px” header_4_font=”Playfair Display|700|||||||” header_4_text_color=”#ffffff” header_4_font_size=”32px” text_orientation=”center” custom_margin=”||” custom_padding=”||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ module_class=”ds-vertical-align” _builder_version=”4.16″ custom_padding=”|||” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.21.0″ custom_margin=”||||false|false” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n
So, What Does True Leisure Look Like?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Is working out in a gymnasium leisure?\u00a0 It depends: are you doing it for the fun of it, or are you doing it to lose weight, or to improve your physique?\u00a0 If the latter, then it\u2019s not leisure\u2014it is servile, it is serving the purpose of losing weight or improving your physique.\u00a0 Again, these are not bad things; they are important in their own ways, even necessary in some cases.\u00a0 But they are not leisure. Here\u2019s a good test: if the same result could be accomplished by taking a pill, for example, would you still do it?\u00a0 If no, then you\u2019re not doing it for its own sake, so it\u2019s not authentic leisure.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\nThis Lack of Limits Can be Seen Very Clearly in Videogames<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
Videogames give us the pleasure of games, without as much effort. If children had nothing to do except play soccer\/football, they would do that for a few hours, but eventually the need for rest and food would overpower the desire for more football, and so there\u2019s a natural limit.\u00a0 This does not appear to be the situation with videogames. There are several documented cases of people who have played videogames non-stop until they literally fell down dead; a Korean man a few years ago played the game Starcraft for 50 hours without break, and then died of exhaustion. (Naughton, Philippe, \u201cKorean drops dead after 50-hour gaming marathon,\u201d Times Online, August 10, 2005)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n
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1. Spend time as a family on authentic leisure, activites that are worthwhile for their own sakes.<\/span><\/h5>\n
2. Be willing to put in the extra effort that engaging with things of dignity and wonder require, unmediated by technology; it\u2019s worth it.<\/span><\/h5>\n
3. Start with making home-made family dinners a priority.<\/span><\/h5>\n
The Four Pathologies<\/h1>\n
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The Church\u00a0identifies four dangers or major \u2018risks and problems\u2019<\/b>\u00a0eating away at the cultural, economic, and political systems\u00a0and begins to identify how to cure them<\/b>.<\/h5>\n
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