Our Culture Is Based On The Ethos Of Consumerism

The 20th century has been described as the century of self (Adam Curtis). The question posed here is if our culture is based on the ethos of consumerism. Firstly, as is quite obvious to any observer, our culture is heavily influenced by consumerism. Nevertheless, it is not enough here to simply restate and agree with the statement. The following essay will evaluate that supposition providing evidence in the positive to support the proposition.

At the outset, it is essential that the notion of culture is unpacked so that the notion of ‘our culture’ as is the basis for this author. Globalisation is by no means a novel phenomenon. The transport of tobacco from the newly formed colonies in the present day USA is a perfect example of globalisation

When a product from a particular brand is marketed towards a consumer, it is marketed as a lifestyle. For example, when you buy an iPad or an iPhone, you are buying in the Apple philosophy. It is about the `person buying the product rather than the product the person is buying, feeling good about yourself and becoming a better person because you’ve bought this brand. She goes on to talk about how overwhelming advertising has become. So much so that there is no longer such thing as public space, the world is medium of advertising and branding. This lead to what is called ‘culture jamming’, which is “the practice of parodying and hijacking billboards in order to drastically alter their messages”. “A good jam is (…) uncovering not an opposite meaning but the deeper truth hiding beneath the layers of advertising euphemisms”: it is a rebellion of the people who felt overpowered by advertising spilling out over every place and space (Klein, 2002)

Soper explains that a more simplistic lifestyle should be adopted not only because we are heading towards ecological disaster and our consumerist lifestyle is not sustainable, but also because it could in fact prove to be more enjoyable. Moreover, it is this possibility of greater enjoyment that will attract people towards this life, rather than warnings of ecological disaster. She is not suggesting that we go back to a more rustic, simplistic approach because we simply cannot. We are intrinsically caught up in consumerism in regards to our need for pensions, insurance and such things. However, she suggests that we go forward with the lessons learned from consumerism, and learn to relax, spending relaxing time with family rather than paying for expensive holidays to pass the time into a week or two and spend time doing basic tasks rather than finding a fast