Branded

 *Since the 1970s, we have witnessed the forces of market fundamentalism strip education of its public values, critical content, and civic responsibilities as part of its broader goal of creating new subjects wedded to consumerism, risk-free relationships, and the destruction of the social state* **- Henry Giroux -** *** *** We live in a world in which people attach their feelings of value, self-worth and social standing amongst their peers to things they buy and the so-called *brand name* items seem to have the most appeal. People, generally speaking, spend huge amounts of money on items with the brand name splashed all over it and I guess they feel more validated by others, more acceptable or simply better than those that do not have those things...but *are they better?* I guess some might be, but I don't think it has much to do with the brand they wear, it's more about the person themselves, and I do not think a brand name in and of itself has the ability to make a person any better than they are already. I fully understand that some items are manufactured to be better than others and I usually try and buy the best I can afford, certainly when it comes to items that I may need to rely on such as safety, communication, vehicle and firearms equipment and other such things, but they are bought based on what they do, how they will perform and how reliable they will be not because there's a brand name attached to them. Buying a *name brand* item because one feels they will be perceived in a better way because of it doesn't make a lot of sense to me...but marketers and corporations promote it for obvious reasons and the vast majority of the population fall for it. I wonder what you may think of this phenomenon and what your buying habits might be and why. Do you buy brand names because they make you more acceptable to others, do you feel the need to have a designer label emblazoned across a shirt to feel validated, drive a vehicle with a popular badged on it and default to the more expensive brand name items because you feel better having them? Why do you feel you'll be perceived more poorly if you do not and what makes you feel you'll be better-perceived or more readily accepted? Do you purchase only after determining the item is the right thing for you, will do the job it is supposed to, stand the test of time and so forth...or do you simply buy because the brand name-perception? Feel free to comment on how consumerism drives buying habits and why you think brand name items are something people covet.