BACSA, SYLVIA ANTHEA D.

GEDO101

Section 6

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 8

Comprehension Questions

1. According to the article, why cannot increased purchasing power and acquisitions of
material goods make one happy?
 Based on the article, increased power, and acquisitions of material goods, has not
made them happier since it is said that materialism has its own type of discontent.
Although having a great amount of money, we cannot have the genuine joy and
happiness.

2. What three suggestions can you make to stop the cycle of keeping up with the Joneses?
 The three suggestions I can make to stop the cycle of keeping up with the Joneses are:
1. We need to appreciate or value things. A pair of shoes is still useful as long we
can use it for jogging, running etc. Stop buying things for your own pleasure.
2. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others. Always look at your own
progress.
3. We need to have a financial goal.

3. What ways are suggested by the author to counter attachment to consumption and
possessions? Do you agree with them or not? Why or why not?
 I agree to the author’s suggestions. The author suggested that we should be contented
on what we have. We should see the value or worth of the things we possess.
According to the author we should use things until it got broken and let us avoid
buying too much just because it is no longer a trend. One of the suggestions of the
author is to stop the cycle of keeping up with the Joneses.
Deepening

1. Make a cause-and effect graphic organizer to illustrate the cycle of the creation of discontent.
Follow the same organizer provided below.

CREATION OF DISCONTENT CYCLE

EFFECT
CAUSE 1
According to Juliet Schor in her article The
The growth of
Creation of Discontent:” The Consumption of
consumption
luxuries necessitated long hours of work.
Consumerism would keep most Americans
imprisoned in capitalism's "squirrel cage."

CAUSE 2
EFFECT
Materialism
It bred its own form of discontent.

CAUSE 3 EFFECT
Keeping up with the You are forever discontent since you continue
Joneses considering what they have that you do not have.

CAUSE 4 EFFECT
Work and Spend Cycle People reject the materialistic values.
Writing Activity

Summary of “The Creation of Discontent”

Juliet Schor is a successful author and a professor of sociology. She is the author of the
article The Creation of Discontent. The author is concerned about the discontent of a person. The
author talks about the growth of consumption, materialism, income, and lifestyle.

The growth of consumption has a positive and negative impact to each individual and to
the economy. Individuals are getting materialistic, even the well-off individual are troubled of
what they are getting. They are not fulfilled or not being satisfied of what they have in their
compensation. Materialism has various qualities, yet these attributes are some different occasions
great and terrible in view of what we felt of discontent in whatever we purchased or have.
Numerous objections about way of life of the children of post war America age; this age have
numerous specialists favored for recreation over cash. They understood that money was not the
response to make them fulfilled.

Money does not come effectively, so we must work for it. We should realize that our kind
of revenue depends on how we work, either having extra time works or completing our work
early. Let us not be visually impaired with the way that money is the motivation behind why
there is materialism and consumerism. (210 words)

Quotations:

 According Juliet Schor in her article the Creation of Discontent: “Materialism has
also bred its own form of discontent - even among the affluent.” (p. 1).
 As stated in the article, “The inability of the consumerist lifestyle to create durable
satisfaction can be seen in the syndrome of "keeping up with the Joneses." (p. 3).
 Another stated by the author, “Instead of craving novelty in consumer goods, we
could cultivate attachments to possessions that were high-quality and long-lasting,
from clothes to automobiles to gadgets. We would use things until they wore out, not
until they went out of fashion or we just grew tired of them.” (p.6)
 The author also stated “we must be open to major changes in how we run our
businesses, households and the connections between them. And we must organize
 ourselves to make those changes happen -- despite all-too-certain opposition from
those who benefit from the status quo.” (p. 6).

Paraphrase:

 According to Juliet Schor, Materialism has likewise reared its own type of discontent -
even among the prosperous. Paper and magazine articles account the disappointment.
(p.1)
 As claimed by the author, Capitalism's Squirrel Cage is generally accepted that our
persistent journey for material products are important for the fundamental cosmetics of
people: We may not like it, however there's little we can do about it.(p.2)
 According to the author, Consumerism blossomed both as a social belief system and
regarding a high pace of genuine spending. Confronted with the need to offer to a
working class whose essential necessities had just been met, sponsors needed to convince
Americans to purchase things they did not generally require. (p.2)
 The author also stated that most workers typically tell surveyors that they are happy with
their present hours/pay decision. Yet, a lot of mental proof proposes that individuals tend
to "adjust" to their surroundings. " (p.5)
 Consumerism: A norm or a trend?

Consumerism, according to Investopedia, “is the idea that increasing consumption of

goods and services purchased in the market is always a desirable goal and that a person's
wellbeing and happiness depends fundamentally on obtaining consumer goods and material
possessions”.

In my own understanding, the word consumerism means of a process wherein we, the
consumers, tend to purchase goods and services in our society in order to continue the existing
cycle between the flow of commodities and services in one’s society. If we tend to destroy this
cycle, in other terms, overbuying and fluctuating goods, therefore, our economic stability would
be in an imbalance state. Consumerism, based on the article by Juliet Schor, mentioned that it
makes the people do more, work more, earn more, and in the end, spend more. Since we earn
more through working overtime, we spend more goods and services, even though to be honest
and exact, we do not really need it. We just tend to buy or purchase it because it is our wants in
life. In the end, since our salary increase and we spend more, we tend to feel that we are not
contented or happy about it and then our supposedly increased salary would not be enough
anymore. This, in turn, would lead to abnormalities, future problems, and imbalances in the
world of economics, in our society, and even ourselves.

There are factors that can propagate or increase consumerism, and these are mainly
present in ourselves and in our environment. According to EDUCBA, there are 4 factors that can
influence one’s consumerism behavior and these are cultural factors, social factors, personal
factors, and psychological factors. There are scenarios of these mentioned in the article of about
what provokes consumers to purchase goods and services. It is because of their culture, their
personal needs, their friends, and environment, and to what they think is necessary to buy and to
spend their money on.

In my own experience, the things, or products that I usually buy that I did not even really
need in my everyday life is the excessive purchase and shopping of clothes. Maybe I was
influenced by my friends or that I want myself to be “in” with the society and to the existing
trend. Buying excessive clothes is a hobby for me and that I can just consider it as my wants in
life. It is not really what I need. My economics teacher once told me to prioritize my needs over
my wants, and that, I think is what I must do in my life.
 In today’s era, we cannot avoid consumerism. It is because it is a part of globalization. It
is our new culture, norm, or trend. We need to follow or adapt to these to survive and to not be
left behind. But we can be responsible consumers. As what I have said a while ago, prioritize
your needs over your wants. Learn how to save and to budget. Be wise.