“Every time you spend money, you are casting a vote for the kind of world you want” says Anna Lappe, an author and educator featured in ‘The New York Times’. What kind of world do we want to live in? And what is our goal in our lifetime? For several decades, as if, a typical undergraduate dream has been characterized with few major steps – getting prestigious high education, taking or buying a diploma, and consequently becoming a successful rich careerist with intuitively main goal to consume as much as possible in order to boost one’s utility at highest potential level. In this way of thinking, development of personal individualism and pursue of human values are left behind the curtains. Everything that can be seen on the scene of our being is mass consumerism, which slowly, gradually, but surely is transferring us into a hedonistic consumer society. According to an article in European Journal of Marketing, “A consumer society is defined as one directed largely by the accumulation and consumption of material goods. The term "consumer society" is used in a pejorative sense, coming from the perception that such a society will inevitably be hedonistic. It is the search for instant gratification that we traditionally associate with hedonism….”(41 Issue: 2007). In our way to gain deep pleasure, we are over purchasing items and gadgets which once were thought to be extreme luxuries. Most of the times, we are interested in what kind of IPhone we possess, whether to buy a tablet or a laptop, are we are driving more expensive and fancy car than the others, what is more fashionable – a pair of Armani jeans or a pair of Dolce and Cabaña trousers. More and more people are not likely to express their own opinion about what they should cons... ... middle of paper ... ... lack of feelings, and the use of stronger and stronger drugs. At the present, it seems like that the technology, the medicine, the economic stability has been improved and consequently we have better life standards than our predecessors – we are able to have more, to wish for more and consequently to consume even more. But how far away are we from the Brave New World? – Unfortunately with every passing decade, we are getting closer and closer to the reality described by Aldous Huxley. As if Rene Descartes’ “I think, therefore I am” is transferring to “I consume, therefore I am.” I cannot say whether being consumers is good or bad but I do believe that our individualism and human values are somehow distorted by our pleasure seeking from consumerism. And although, our society may be able to survive at the expense of individual freedom, it is not worth the price.
The chosen article is Two Cheers for Consumerism by James Twitchell. In this article he talks about consumerism, commercialism, and materialism. He argues the stand point of consumers and the role they live by every day. In other hands the critics, Academy, gives the consumers and overview description to their consumers.
In his novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley provides stark warnings for contemporary American society by using the futuristic but relatable setting of the “World State”. When reading such dystopian novels as Brave New World, readers must consider the implications of the author’s warnings and how they are relevant to the world we live in. One such warning that deeply relates to contemporary American society is that of the dangers of consumerism and the materialistic view that results from it. As in the “World State”, we live in a culture where economic stability is favored over the preservation of resources. Moreover, people seem to feel that spending and buying is a way to increase or maintain social status.
Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Hetherington K, and Harvard C.(eds) (2014, pg.126,142). He further claims, “This is the characteristic pattern of inequality in our contemporary consumer society one that contrasts with the lines of class and occupational status that characterised the major cleavages in Industrial society”. Bauman, Z, (1988) cited in Alan, J. (2014 pg. 275). Moreover, consumerism encourages people to consume creating their own identities, replacing Identities centred on production and work. Furthermore, Hayek in the ‘Ordering Lives Strand’ claims “The market should be free of political intervention allowing individuals to be free to pursue their own interests” Hayek, F.A. (1976). cited in Clarke, J. (2014 pg.380). However, Allen. claims “The ability to ‘buy into’ a particular lifestyle actively excludes others from it on the basis of lack of income and those unable to do so will be seen as unworthy or inadequate” (Allen, J. 2014 P. 278). Thus constraints can be seen placed on people through lack of income, turning differences into inequalities with evidence indicating that ‘People’s values, beliefs and status are now shaped by ‘Consuming’ rather than as in Industrial times by work, politics and religion’, (The Open University, 2016). Therefore, differences which turn into inequalities are as predominant in today’s consumer society as they were in our industrial
America’s current standard of living is going to cause our demise. Consumerism is a problem throughout Americans culture since mass production began in the late nineteenth century. The obsession with consumerism has led to mindless wastes of resources, a diseased society and economic instability. Rick Wolff, a professor of economics at University of Massachusetts, states “economics of capitalism spread consumerism—now uncontrolled, ecologically harmful, and fiscally disastrous—throughout the United States”. Wolff’s viewpoint on consumerism aligns with mine. Believing that an economy based on promoting endless consumption is volatile and unsustainable. Consumerism can be analyzed and seen to be embedded by corporations and politicians.
The book titled ‘Being Consumed” written by William T Cavanaugh challenges the economic ‘free market’ system by opposing it with a Christian alternative which will actually be to the benefit of consumers in the market. The alternative method practices true freedom for consumers and points out the definition of freedom we were tailored to understand in the economy, which is in actual fact a vicade or a marketing strategy to exploit consumers into thinking they are still part of controlling the economy. It is discussed as good opposed to bad or negative opposed to positive and offers explanations and examples relating to the free market we in and the negative impacts on the consumers and negative practices which in turn benefits bigger corporations.
We look like we have it all, but do we really? McKibben provides that what we think makes us happy- is actually just the product of a capitalistic brainwashing charade to make everyone into happy consumers. People are told that when they buy they will be happy, that they will have value, because they have stuff. Consumerism taps into people's insecurities; the goal is to make people feel inadequate if they do not contribute to the system of buying. Feeling inadequate is definitely not going to make us happy, so what will? According to McKibben, “we need time with family, we need silence for reflection, we need connection with nature.” (McKibben, 44) McKibben says that we are still in the momentum of the past when we had plenty of non-materialistic things, but little material goods. McKibbens understanding is that we are now living lavish lives, but because we are under the impression that material things can be a source of value and happiness, we feel as though have not got enough. McKibben then moves on to analyse what we can do, which is find ways to change our economy from being linear to circular, so that there isn't an end, but a continuation. McKibben summarizes it as “we need, in short, a new utilitarianism. When more and better shared a branch, we could kill two birds with one stone. Since they’ve moved apart, we can’t.” (McKibben, 45) More and better definitely are long past
With the rise of industrialization, globalization, and mass production, the manufacturing productivity has been dramatically increased and accordingly the availability of consumer goods. And with the rise of the mass media, various products have been targeted on broad groups of consumers. Consumerism, which is propelled by a system of mass production and high levels of consumption, has been one of the themes in art works from twentieth century till now.
As demonstrated in Henry David Thoreau’s passage from Economy, Wendell Berry’s from Waste, and John Kenneth Galbraith’s passage from The Dependence Effect, America’s overly advancing society thrusts ideas like materialism and the “love of buying” into the interior of every American’s mind. Even the American Dream, a fundamental notion to our nation, now unites all people of all cultures under materialism and greed. The highly capitalist American society distorts values such as the “quest for freedom” into a search for cash and the frontiers no longer exist. America’s increased production yields the increased wants of consumers and as Galbraith states, “One man’s consumption becomes his neighbor’s wish (479).” With this reckoning, the more wants satisfied, the more new ones born. Berry, on the other hand, more out rightly attacks America’s capitalist economy and the wastes it has produced when saying “The truth is that we Americans, all of us, have become a kind of human trash, living our lives in the midst of ubiquitous damned mess of which we are at once the victims and the perpetrators (485).” America’s corporate capitalism and consumerism culture undermines our well-being in that we deplete Earth's limited resources, produce excess waste, and indulge excessively in unnecessary luxuries that ultimately result in our unhappiness and financial downfall, while trapping us in an endless cycle of dependency.
Consumerism is a noun that signifies the theory that when people spend money on popular goods they are helping the economy. Consumerism has changed from the view that a product gave you a service, to being a mental well-being level by defining our identity as people. Our society feels as though our consumption habits define how we understand ourselves, how we connect with each other, and above all how we feel a part of, and fit in with the society as a whole. The products in which we buy are largely defining our social and economic value. This is because the lens in which we see and understand the world shows us what is possible and how we might go about achieving what we want. Colin Campbell, a British sociologist, adds his knowledge into
In conclusion, everything that we have learned this quarter has shown the truth about the current state of consumerism. That it is a state that has been created by a lie, and has grown with lies, and it is a state of existance that stomps on the human race each day with a huge iron toe boot. And I believe that this state will be changed into a perfect state of being, a state that will not view humans as expendable resources, but as living and breathing people.
Sigmund Freud was the initiator of psychoanalysis. He altered the insight into the human mind and how it works. It spurred him into defining the unconscious and what was for him the powerhouse of personality – irrational motivation. The series examines profound queries surrounding the origins and techniques of contemporary consumerism, commodification, typical democracy and its consequences. It furthermore looks at the current manner we perceive ourselves, the outlooks to fashion and superficiality. Freud's findings in connection with the mind were methodically applied by corporate America and the U.S. government to raise their capital and authority. This technique also provided the impre...
Consumerism is defined as “the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable” (“Consumerism”). Its primary motivation is the idea that if one does not have all that money can buy, then he or she cannot be happy. This school of thought has become an integral part of modern society not only in the United States, but internationally as well. While the exact source of this term and ideology are debatable, it is certain now that consumerism is here to stay, intertwining with all aspects of American culture. 1.
When talking about pleasure there needs to be a distinction between the quality and the quantity. While having many different kinds of pleasures can be considered a good thing, one is more likely to favor quality over quantity. With this distinction in mind, one is more able to quantify their pleasures as higher or lesser pleasures by ascertaining the quality of them. This facilitates the ability to achieve the fundamental moral value that is happiness. In his book Utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill offers a defining of utility as pleasure or the absence of pain in addition to the Utility Principle, where “Actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness” (Mill 7). Through this principle, Mill emphasizes that it is not enough to show that happiness is an end in itself. Mill’s hedonistic view is one in support of the claim that every human action is motivated by or ought to be motivated by the pursuit of pleasure.
we want in our world today? Although people are afraid to say it, it is obvious
According to Slater (1997), Consumer Culture is the culture of market societies and is defined though market relations. It predominantly is the product of capitalism. He believes that this new culture is a pecuniary culture based on money. The central claim is that the values from the realm of consumption will spill over into other domains of social action. He further argues that Consumer Culture is in principle, universal and impersonal. He simultaneously agues, that there is an ultior claim towards this definition, as although it seems universal and is depicted as a land of freedom, in which everyone can be a consumer, it is also felt to be universal because everybody must be a consumer. ...