DELUXE HOT LIST FOR RITCHIE RICH

Sustainability is an ability to keep something for the next generation. It is not only
goes for environmental aspect, but it also goes for social and economic aspect. Related to
social and economic sustainability, nowadays people consume much more thing than the
years before. Almost all people like to buy luxurious thing. This bad habit is also called
consumptive. Consumptive is not only a condition where people like to buy luxurious
thing, but consumptive is a condition where people are consuming something more than
their ability to produce that thing. Nowadays, lot of magazines and newspaper are talking
about consumptive habit, also in Indonesia. People are concerning on this bad habit, its
causes, and its effect. I agree that we have to tackle consumptive habit before it happen
continuously. If consumptive habit happens continuously, then it can also broke the next
generation of Indonesia because they just can consume something without producing that
thing.
There are some evidences that people are now being more consumptive. The first
thing is that people are starting to use credit card for their payment. There is two kinds of
person that use credit card. There first kind is the group of people that use credit card as a
hobby and the second kind is the group of people that use credit card because they don’t
have enough money to pay their purchase, so they need to pay their purchase by credit.
But, the fact is that most of the people use their credit card as a hobby or prestige. They
feel proud if they can use credit card. This is the bad habit of using credit card that also
make we can’t have a sustainable economic life. A research has predicted that the amount
of credit card in the community will increase from 8.1 million credit cards to 20.7 million
credit cards.
The other evidence can be seen by the daily habit of the people in Indonesia.
Television shows teach the people to be consumptive by giving a quiz and if the person
could answer the question, the people could get millions of money. Lot of producers has
the same way to promote their product. They give some present for the people that buy
their product. Most of the films also teach people to be consumptive. The film told that
life is only about love. For example, there is a rich man that fall in love with a poor
woman. The man only thinks about the woman and is never gives up to get the woman. It
seems that love is all the same for every class of people. In daily life, this make people
don’t want to work and just wait until a rich man come to them and marry them, then
their life will be better. Most of the entertainment shows also make people think that
actors and actresses are having a great life. They don’t work hard, but they can get lot of
money. Remember that consumptive is a condition where people only consume
something without produce that thing. If you want a rich man marry you, or if you want
to be an actor or actress, then you might want to buy the same thing as what they have.
You will never care about how much money that you have spend even though you
actually don’t have enough money. One of the other evidence is that every people that sit
on the governmental department only focusing their life for consumption. Corruption can
happen because people are more consumptive than productive. They only think about the
simplest way to get lot of money, which is by corruption.
The third evidence is come from the European Monitor International. They state
that people consumption rate is rising very well. For example, people consumption rate
for air conditioner has rising 332%, for television 600%, for camera 471%, for motor
cycle 17,430%, and for telephone 1,643%.
There are some reasons why consumptive habit can occur. The first reason is
because of globalization. Globalization makes people know the life style of the people in
the other country. This is the things that happen in Indonesia. People look at the life style
that the people from other country have, then they also want to be as glamour as them. In
fact the mental of the people in Indonesia are not ready yet. The bad effect is that
nowadays, nationalism is getting disappear in every individual people of Indonesia. They
already learn how to be more individualistic by always buy things for their purchase and
they forget about the social life habit that Indonesia had.
The second reason is about credit card. Most of us think that credit card has
shown lot of advantages, yet we are forgotten if it also has a bad effect for us. People say
that credit card is easier to carry because we can pay any payment just by a little card. It
is also safer if we bring money in a big amount. By that card, a big amount of money can
be compact into one little card. Some of the people also say that credit card make us can
pay an amount of money that is really urgent. Those opinions are right. The bad effect
comes when we use the credit card more than the portion that we have. For example,
credit card makes the people like to have a debt. At the first time people use credit card
because of their urgent needs. In the second time also because of their urgent needs. The
third time, the fourth time, and again, and again, then they will start to use credit card as
their habit. They think that because of credit card, everything will be easier. So, they
change their habit to pay by cash become credit card.
The third reason is that people in Indonesia has a very big different of social class
and a mental that like to have a debt. Even though Indonesia is one of the developing
countries, but the people in Indonesia determine their social status by what they have.
This is the thing that makes people like to buy everything for their prestige. If they don’t
have enough money, then they will start to borrow money from the other people. A
research has proved that there are two things that is being a standard rule in determining
someone’s social status, which are car or motorcycle and house. This is very different
with the social life moral which teach us to determine someone social status by their
education, humility, maturity, and good socialization. Things like this are not good and
can broke the future life of our country, Indonesia. Beside that, this also can make
corruption, collusion, and nepotism become a habit for every people.
Knowing a consumptive habit is happening every where, we as the future
generation have to solve this problem and prevent this habit to happen continuously.
There are some ways to solve this problem. The first thing is by having a financial book.
This way can be good for people that use credit card. If we know that we always use
credit card too much, or maybe until over limit, then we can have a financial book. This
financial book can help us to note every payment that we already spend in a whole
month. By this way, we know when we have to stop our usage of credit card. We also
know how to be wiser in using our money.
The second thing that we can do is by teaching a social life moral to the children.
We know that the children are the next generation that will be the next leader of
Indonesia. If we have a consumptive habit continuously, then the future of Indonesia will
be broken. Hopefully, by giving a social life moral in education, children will have more
understanding about how to live wiser and not only consume something, but also produce
something. The other thing that can be taught to our children is about savings. We have to
teach the children to use their money wisely and then save the rest of it. Habit like this
will also help parent to teach the children to be wiser.
For the people that sit in the governmental department, they can start to give
honor to the people that can produce something. Having competitions for the students in
Indonesia also one of a good habit. We can teach the student how to produce something.
They can be more creative and innovative. Indonesia never honors the people that can
produce something. They just think about how to consume something. So, it will be
better if we can start to honor people that can produce something. This way will motivate
the people to be more productive.
The last suggestion is by telling the government to have a good social life moral.
Look at the history, Indonesian first president and vice president, Soekarno-Hatta, were
rich man. But, they never bought luxurious thing and they never looked glamour in front
of the public. They could be a good example for the community. Things that they did
made the people shy if they wanted to show off because their leader didn’t do that thing.
Things like this not only happen in Indonesia. In America, one of the most developed
countries, Bill Gates and Gorge Sores, as the richest man in America, never look
luxurious. Some of the media say that they drive their own car. They don’t use driver to
bring them anywhere. Things like this make the other rich man feel shy if they want to
look glamour. Those examples tell us that everything is start from us. We as the
community have to start caring our nation. If we can do it, then the other people that see
us will also do it. Be an example to change Indonesia.
So, as the conclusion, consumptive is not good for our life and our future. It has to
be tackle because people are now using credit card as their valid payment, daily habit of
Indonesian people are now changing, and a research had state that people are consuming
much more thing than the years before. Remember that the world has a zone called the
comfort zone. Maybe we are rich and we can buy everything as well. But then, we will
enter the comfort zone. Be careful! Comfort zone is also dangerous. We will feel very
comfortable with our life and we can start to stop the competitions that we have among
every people. Quit from the competitions also means that we will quit from this life.
Would you want to stop or quit? Choose one of them, whether you want to stop being
consumptive or being quitted from this life…
REFERENCE:

BETTS,K. (2004) Luxury Fever. Time Magazine Style & Design. Fall 2004 edition, p38-44

KASALI, R. “Sikap Konsumtif yang Kembali Mencemaskan”. Sikap Konsumtif.

(http://isal.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/sikap-konsumtif-yang-kembali-
mencemaskan) (13 August 2008)

N.A. ”Benarkah Kartu Kredit Identik Dengan Pola Hidup Konsumtif?”. Sikap Konsumtif.
(http://www.korantempo.com/news/2002/1/27/Pundi/53.html) (13 August 2008)

N.A. ”Sikap Konsumtif Menguat”. Sikap Konsumtif.

(http://www.bisnisbali.com/2007/06/08/news/
opini/wert.html) (13 August 2008)

SUMARDJO, J. ”Tidak Produktifa”. Sikap Konsumtif. (http://www.bapeda-

jabar.go.id/bapeda_design/dokumen_informasi.php?t=13&c=1845)
(13 August 2008)