Chapter II: Consumerism, a Personal Perspective

We are what we buy. The following is a list of things I have purchased this summer, their manufacturers, and their prices, as nearly as I can remember.

one year subscription to Adbusters.............$35.00
two Now And Zen t-shirts.......................$15.98
one Victorinox Swiss army knife................$20.23
one American Apparel track jacket*.............$39.06
six Green Squirrel Shirts t-shirts.............$30.55
one Mossimo track jacket.......................$23.99
two Abercrombie & Fitch fleece jackets*........$49.50
one Aeropostale cargo shorts...................$19.99
one American Eagle cargo shorts................$9.99
one AXE bodyspray..............................$0.99
one Simple tennis shoes........................$13.99
one Simple sneakers............................$50.99
two Staedtler Mars kneadable erasers...........$3.98
three Canson drawing paper.....................$6.00
one Strathmore 18x24'' sketchpad...............$4.00
one Interplay computer game....................$3.99
five Clearasil face soap.......................$19.99
one Victorinox Startech 2000 watch.............$80.75
two Aeropostale t-shirts.......................$25.00
four Hanes boxer-briefs........................$8.49
one Tempurpedic pillow.........................$17.99
three Staedtler Mars drawing pencils...........$1.50
five used books................................$3.00
one birthday cake*.............................$7.00
one shitty boardgame*..........................$13.00
one Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.....$17.99
two Pilot pens.................................$2.50
one pack of Jenga blocks.......................$12.50
one Sony clip-on headphones....................$32.00
one year subscription to All In................$22.00
one year subscription to Wired.................$4.99

*not for me

Conclusion: Ironic, is it not, that Adbusters, a magazine devoted to anti-consumerism that urges people not to buy things they don't need, offers subscriptions. Do I really need the magazine?