The Egocentricity You Have When You Aren’t Being Egocentric

SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) sales have risen in Australia by 4% over the last year. This is while all other car sales have fallen. It is thought that only 5% of SUVs are ever taken off road. This begs the question, why do so many people want to own a four wheel drive if they are never going to use it? Obviously there are characteristics of the SUV that are attractive to families: they are large and roomy; they have a high driving position which makes driving easier, and arguably they are safe in an accident because they are just so big and over-engineered.

However on the downside, they are more expensive to run; they cost more to purchase, and they are packed with features that don’t get used. What is it about our human condition that makes us want to buy these vehicles?

If we think about our egocentricity we get some idea why it might be. Let us define egocentricity as the need to prove ourselves. Could it be that the high seating position gives people a feeling of power as they look down on other motorists?

Another reason is that in Australia, unbridled egocentricity is considered crass. That creates a problem because people try all the time to get everyone else to know that they are great, but it can’t be obvious that that is what they are doing, or, as I say, people will dismiss them as crass. For this reason, cars like Rolls Royces and other expensive supercars don’t really sell well in Australia.

So there is a conundrum. How do we let other people know that we are successful without appearing to care whether people know we are successful? How do we do it? How do we walk that line? It is a bit like trying to appear cool. By definition, ‘cool’ is not caring how you look, so how do you try to look like you aren’t trying. It is a catch 22. Hours are spent in front of the mirror trying to get that ‘don’t care’ look down pat. If you thought about it too much the hypocrisy of the human condition would be suffocating.

It’s also a bit like writing what is meant to be an effortless piece such as this, when in-fact effort has gone into it appearingly without effort; but not too much effort because it would then be obvious that I was trying too hard not to try etc etc. Anyway let’s not think about it too much or our relationship with our conscience could tie us in knots.

SUVs seem to manage this balancing act because everyone knows that they are expensive, so they tick the box of letting people know that you are successful; but they also allow the driver to say to the world, ‘this isn’t because of egocentricity, the only reason I have this expensive vehicle is because I like to go out into the bush’. Obviously as the statistics point out this is a lie because they don’t go off-road, but it is enough of a loophole to allow people to have their cake and eat it too.