Humanity's tendency towards commodification of things ought to be resisted.

Rebuttal cont. of R2 opponent’s contentions Problems with commodification? Whatever culture, humans value life & recognize murder & exploitation. Different points of view that you make point, is our promulgated enculturation into the western neo-liberal culture. It skews social values & ideology to self. We've been inculcated the West’s ways are supreme; all others should mimic if they wish to become a developed country. We fail to see our commodification of daily life has eroded social values & sense of civic duty for the past 30 yrs. With our standard of living in declining, we are now in revolt using minorities & immigrants as scapegoats for our state. Is it ethical to impose our eroding way of life upon others? [55. http://tinyurl.com...;http://tinyurl.com..., 57. http://tinyurl.com...] Prostitution, the oldest profession is commoditized labor. It has existed across cultures over millenniums. Its social status, or lack of, is dictated by the values of a particular society. Our views toward it are within the frame work of our culture. Others have an alternative view, and that’s the point; honoring other cultural norms [58.http://tinyurl.com..., 59.http://tinyurl.com...]. The commodification of natural resources is Western ideology; its infection into other countries has resulted in slavery; the beef, sugar & fishing industries in Brazil, Dominican & Thailand [60.http://tinyurl.com...]. The push for a global economy has finance & industry taking land for mining & resource extraction, displacing people. This not only does it strip culture, but eliminates these peoples’ self determination, to decide how they wish to advance in their own best interest. States or investors often violently take lands for profit; residents don’t benefit, degrading their quality of life. Current land & resource grabs are occurring in India, Zambia, Congo, Papua & others. Often land grabs are done with military force. [61.http://tinyurl.com..., 62.http://tinyurl.com..., 63.http://tinyurl.com..., 64. http://tinyurl.com..., 65.http://tinyurl.com...] Mining pollutes water, air & soil. Local people lose fresh water & land becomes un-arable for farming, it undermines local economies, leading to civil unrest; which at times results in military action protecting corporate interest against local insurgence [66.http://tinyurl.com..., 67.http://tinyurl.com...]. Food security for whom? Foreign/industrial interest that has placed land under private control in the 3rdworld doesn’t provide food security, just the opposite. Much of what’s produced is for export & bio fuels; hindering local food security. It reaps investors returns & creates hedge fund products for investors. Farmers' lands are taken & their only employment choice is as farm hands for agribusiness. Biofuel crops are resulting in food insecurity in Ghana, Tanzania & Sudan. Land grabs occur in countries already food insecure, Cambodia, Kenya, & Zimbabwe where 30% or more of the population in malnourished [ 68.http://tinyurl.com..., 69.http://tinyurl.com...;].Is continued commoditization of natural resources at the expense of others on balance a good thing? DEFENSE: Why are things commodified?Trade came after man’s ability to speak. Speech development was an evolutionary process that started 50,000 yrs. ago, about the time they man began to use tools. Trade & communication was not simultaneous. [70.http://tinyurl.com...] There’s nothing wrong with commodifying tangible items, a toaster or TV; I can’t make these myself.How commodification is empowering is very subjective. My point is commoditization of the intangibles of life or of resources that results in harm to others should be resisted. Your original heading“Does commodification leave us better off? If so, how? And argument was how commodification made our life better. My rebuttal response in summary, commodification doesn’t always prove to be beneficial; in fact we are no longer thriving due to commodification. We are worse off now than 30 yrs. ago. Your response culture doesn’t get stripped away, but evolves (R2 Indigenous). Wrong. Culture in undeveloped nations get assimilated & indoctrinated at the cost of their autonomy & self-determination; [71.http://tinyurl.com...] they are subservient to the imposed economic system. They lose their egalitarian ways & systems which establishes value of land, concepts of community property & social order. Example: Land ownership is a foreign concept to Native American & Australian Aboriginals; land & natural resources aren’t commodified. Being transformed into a 1st world country under Neoliberal capitalism is costly, altering the fabric in which a culture was built. Product value is based on market forces, not need, use-value or symbolic significance. The commodification of a culture’s norms to fit the parameters of an alternative economic system & culture ought to be resisted. [72.http://tinyurl.com..., 73.http://tinyurl.com..., 74.http://tinyurl.com..., 75.http://tinyurl.com...;] "Moral cultural codes of reciprocity ... is a completely inaccurate bare assertion”. (Cited#26) to affirm premise. What’s morally correct in one culture isn’t seen as moral in another. Does anyone have the right to undermine moral codes of 1 culture & replace it with another through commodification? No. You misunderstood the Johnny surplus labor rebuttal. It was not that the shop owner has to deal with overhead before making a profit, but that Johnny doesn’t benefit from his surplus labor because shop profits are not returned into the local economy. The major point was we are not better off due to commodification; but are getting poorer. Continued overseas commodification egregiously exploits workers & environment. Their lives have been commodified to the level of a broken toaster, disposable. Should this continue? I won’t begrudge your standard of living & luxuries you can afford, but they come at a cost to others. The copper mined in the 3rd world is in your cell phone & other tech products. “Right now many people in this world do not live in abject poverty.” 1.3B people live in extreme poverty. The numbers are getting worse, not better due to commodification [76.http://tinyurl.com..., 77.http://tinyurl.com...]. Health care: A point made that the medical industry has made life better for some, & specifically in the US for those who can pay. Those living in countries with socialized medicine are doing far better, there health care is a right not for the privileged [78. http://tinyurl.com..., 79.http://tinyurl.com...]. In fact, 643,000 people in the US have gone bankrupt due to medical cost. Re: 3rd world medicines; thankfully Doctors without Borders & like volunteer groups; as well as national health organizations donate their time & purchase medicines for the sake of humanity. If 3rd world countries didn’t receive this help, they’d get nothing. Self-defeating: You’ve misunderstood my contention. Which is continued commodification of social interactions & commodification without respect to 3rd world peoples’ should be resisted. Not ending all commodification & reverting to living off the land; only the expansion of commodification. I’m not required to provide an alternative plan. Problems Blood Diamonds: Isn’t slavery a human rights issue & people shouldn’t be viewed as a commodity in this form? You can’t honestly see wiggle room on the issue due to different values. Wouldn’t be more responsible to purchase a Fair Trade/Conflict Free diamond? [80.http://tinyurl.com...] Subjectivity & values are in the eyes of the culture, isn’t that the whole point? Our values are NOT the values of other cultures & imposing ours unto others is ethically questionable. In the US for over 30 yrs, commodification of social interactions has crept into our lives without notice. We’ve commodified our self-identity & self worth via consumerism. We’ve been enculturated to view the individual reigns supreme over the collective. Give thought to things like renting a womb, [http://tinyurl.com...] & for profit adoptions, a white child higher priced than one of color due to market demand. Private contractors & mercenaries fighting our wars destroying the meaning of sacrifice & value of citizenship. Purchasing admission to an elite school through a generous donation, rather than merit. We no longer communicate in person, but through text. Attributes of sympathy, generosity, thoughtfulness, attentiveness are reduced to utility. No longer is there intangible value in community & family, but value placed on a fictionalized community that exists through electronic devices. No more are Sunday family dinners at grandma’s an event looked forward to; but Saturday video game playing with on-line family that churns out a monthly internet bill, new game versions & faster computers to be purchased. Commodification has swallowed more & more of our everyday life & has changed the fabric of our society. Aristotle taught that virtue & morality are civic duties & needs to be practiced toward humanity; this will lead to personal happiness. When we commodify social interactions, the things that make us human & part of a common society is lost. Our moral & ethics are skewed to not what is best for all, but what’s in it for me. [81.http://tinyurl.com..., 82.http://tinyurl.com...] "Fetish commodities” It is not anyone's personal responsibility” to ensure that one's culture as a whole stays "rich" See above, the commodification of social interactions negates sense of civic mindedness & community; I hear "its not my responsibiliy", my point affirmed.