The Diderot Effect – The ´Never Enough´ Phenomenong
We often experience a series of expenses. For Example, a new year resolution of getting fit might start with the purchase of a skipping rope. Next, we feel that the shoes and clothes we use aren’t helping & order a new set of those. But a sudden increase in physical activity might become a reason for body pain & there comes the pain relief spray. Then we remember, the diet is equally important & order food supplements like protein powder and for that we need a shaker which takes up the next position in the list. Oh, but how to monitor the progress? Hence the Weighing Machine and other gadgets come to rescue taking a dig at the bank balance. Have you ever come across a similar experience of purchases (in any of the instances like shifting to a new home, buying a new car or even beginning the MBA journey!) where the consumption of one product leads to the purchase of another product and so on? I’m sure many of us might say ‘Yes’. This phenomenon of a new consumption or introduction of a new possession leading into further spiral consumption is known as the Diderot Effect. However, this example might create a positive impact through fitness, whereas the concept holds good for wasteful consumption as well, which might not be healthy for the pocket!
The Diderot Effect was first explained by Denis Diderot, an 18th century French Philosopher (and also an art critic & a writer) in his Essay ‘Regrets on Parting with my Old Dressing Gown or A warning to those who have more taste than fortune’. (The link for this Essay is mentioned at the end of this article). Later in 1988, Dr. Grant McCracken termed it as Diderot Effect & explained that – Purchases are not solely determined by their functionality and usefulness. Diderot is known as the editor of Encyclopédie, which was a general encyclopaedia published in France in the mid-18th century. The story tells how Diderot struggled with financial constraints for the largest part of his life. Despite his fame of co-founding and writing Encyclopédie, he was unable even to bear the expenses of his daughter’s wedding. Having heard of his financial difficulties, Empress Catherine the Great paid him 50,000 francs to serve as her librarian. Later he was either gifted or he purchased a new beautified red-dressing gown, which became the root of this story. Instead of creating happiness, his life became miserable with this new luxury possession. He lived an ordinary life without any cravings but the arrival of this new gown made every surrounding material look shabby. He desired to upgrade every other thing to match the standards of this new gown. He replaced the modest prints hanging on his wall with framed paintings, an old straw chair with a brand-new leather one and also gets an inlaid armoire leading to a series of new purchases which becomes an unending spiral until he finds himself in midst of debt which forced him again to his old state of poverty. Hence in his essay, he quotes ‘My friends, keep your old friends. My friends, Fear the touch of wealth. Let my example teach you a lesson. Poverty has its freedoms; opulence has its obstacles’.
Later on, the Diderot effect became an important aspect in understanding human psychology & consumerism. It gives a massive advantage to the marketeers out there to understand the needs(?) of the customer and deliver accordingly. But as a consumer, how to tackle it? Well, it is consumption driven and will be unique for every individual based on their own consumption pattern and it’s up to you to either avoid it (left to your own thoughts!) or to live with it…
Link for the Essay – https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/diderot/1769/regrets.htm
Krishna Abhilash
PGPM Co ’22