I apologize for the second reference in my column to a single movie, but this past week something has been on my mind, and why say what’s already been put so plainly before. Tyler Durden states in “Fight Club, “Advertising has us working jobs we hate to buy shit we don’t need.”

In a cultural studies class I am taking, some of the reading was covering the Industrial Revolution in England. For early industrial companies to quickly make up overhead cost for new equipment, or to take advantage of the small profit benefit for factories, the management wanted to increase the weekly work hours. Most of their workers came from an agricultural background, and were accustomed to a certain amount of work.

These workers would work long hours on a seasonal basis, for harvest or planting time, but the rest of the year there was time for leisure. The industrial management was asking for a permanent increase in hours, something the working class did not want.

Due to the small size of the work force in early industry, the companies could not force the hours onto the workers with disciplinary measures or fines. They had to resort to parading the benefit of more hours as more money. This reward approach proved inconsequential.

That was until the companies began to push “luxury goods.” Imports and other needful things filled the store windows and suddenly the working class had a reason to work long hours in hellish conditions. It was as if they were introduced to all of the things they had never known about, and all of a sudden, could not live without.

That idea is the very goal of modern advertising. If there’s a new product, even though people have been doing fine without it, the goal is to make it look like it is a necessity. Blur the line between need and want, between luxury and necessity, and sales go up.

It was discussed in Michael Moore’s latest film, “Bowling for Columbine.” The idea put into words by Marilyn Manson in his interview with Moore is that there is a culture of fear. Keeping the people afraid of being isolated from the group or somehow left behind ensures that they will continue to spend their money, continue to work jobs and feed their income back into the economy.

It seems to make for a strong economy in that it is continuously growing. The citizens of the United States are some of the most affluent in the world. Unfortunately, this means that we are responsible for more than our portion of environmental degradation.

All of that stuff has to come from somewhere, be processed, transported and delivered in its shiny plastic package to your front door.

A friend of mine came into my room the other day, and said, “It’s amazing how little you really need. So much is superficial.”

She brought to my attention something I hadn’t really thought through. By limiting my luggage, I had eliminated so much of the superficial stuff.

After my arrival, I picked up a set of dishes at a secondhand store for $5. It was only last week that I decided to pamper myself and buy a pillow, something I haven’t been without for longer than I can remember prior to this semester. Worldwide, how many people do you think have the comfort of a nice pillow?

I have so little here that spending about $18 in American money at the Salvation Army doubled the size of my wardrobe. I know what to do with six “new” used shirts better than I do with all of my closet space.

Without a car, I rely on friends and public transportation as never before. As a vegetarian, my grocery bill is generally smaller than the next guy’s. I realized that by cutting out so much, I’ve done less harm.

When we talk about the environment and human impact, we tend to applaud those companies that reduce waste or limit habitat fragmentation. Most applauded environmental companies just manage to do less harm. It is only reclamation projects that do good.

Don’t get me wrong. I still applaud the environmentally considerate companies. I just want you to take a look at your life, your big plans. If you’re going into a career field because of the money, are you making a good choice?

Just think about the millions of people that live on less than $1 a day. I’m not telling you to be sad about it. Just be frugal.

What does a monk gain with an ascetic lifestyle? I’m not sure, but it’s interesting that both Christian and Eastern religious groups came upon asceticism as a valid means of spiritual growth.