We are the dollars and cents

For the upcoming paper, I aim to examine what Ramage suggests about, and the role rhetoric plays in, the following ideas:
- How much of an effect do cultural readymades have on our spending habits?
- Is our entire materialist culture founded on this idea?
- What would the effect be if we transcended the need to fit into a cultural readymade?

I'm particularly interested in that last question. I'm wondering if our society would be generally more content without feeling the pressure to have the items that fit a certain lifestyle. On an NPR program recently, they discussed the notion of whether money can buy happiness. A bit of research that was mentioned was a finding that the difference between making $5,000 a year and $50,000 was related to a significant difference in "happiness." But that income difference is simply what it takes to fulfill basic needs. When it comes to someone making $50,000 a year versus someone making $500,000 a year, there is very little difference in their reported satisfaction with life. Therefore, the rhetoric of consumerism is misleading. I hope to unpack Ramage's notion of cultural readymades, and examine the rhetoric that turns a need for identity into purchases.

Basically I'm worried that I can't afford to be cool. jk rofl. But really, I think there's something pretty rediculous going on here regarding the factors that cause us to spend money, or even want it in the first place as much as we do. And I'm not saying I'm not a victim of it, I just want to better understand it.