Renante H.

Cabarles Philosophy of Man

AB Communication-2 Br. Clifford John Fiecas

Consumerism

In the capitalist economy, people live a high materialistic lifestyle that comprises
conspicuous over-consuming, reflexive, and wastefulness of products/services which revolves
around a social and economic structure in which customers are encouraged to buy anything,
regardless of whether they need it. Such consumer desires are more often driven by lifestyle
obsession rather than by need, giving them a sense of happiness and fulfillment through material
possession. Consumerism refers to a state of being wherein people live this type of lifestyle.
Every single day, people consume goods and services, but brands, fashion, identity, and their
rights as purchasers of those goods and services. We see this in social and economic terms such
as in media, in the goals of the business, and in the idea of buying things as a goal and process
for life in and of itself. We all know that Consumerism is a problem driving global
environmental change as the costs of consumption such as the exploitation of people, the
destruction of ecosystems, and pollution from wasteful extraction and harmful disposal are
externalized out of sight and distanced through lengthening global supply chains and hidden
behind discounted retail prices that fail to account for social and environmental costs.

Nowadays, the problem of deepening and spreading consumerism and its growing global
environmental and social impact is a complex governance challenge that is intertwined through
social, economic, and political systems from individual to international scales. Progress to
govern the problem locally through greater consumer responsibility, production efficiencies,
more recycling and reuse, and bigger markets for eco-products are necessary. But efforts are also
required to govern the problem globally.

When the Economists said that when consumers increase their spending, then it is beneficial for
both parties. Like it helps companies to increase their profit, revenue, and sales; and consumers
derive benefits from utilizing the product/service. For instance, the auto manufacturer would
enjoy profitability by the increase in the sale of vehicles. The sale of relevant businesses would
also increase like tires, steel, and accessories. That’s how consumer spending offers a lot of
benefits to the consumers and the economy.
 According to my research about consumerism, culture has contributed in a great way to
stimulating the global economy but at the same time, it has affected the social status of the
people in a significant way. It also expresses and stated that Karl Marx’s theory of the alienation
of workers within a capitalist system is that consumerist urges become a social force separate
from the individual and operating independently. Products and brands become the force that
propels and reproduces norms, social relations, and the general structure of society.
Consumerism exists when the consumer goods we desire drive what happens in society or even
shape our entire social system. The dominant worldview, values, and culture are inspired by
disposable and empty consumption.
Consumerism is a type of social arrangement that results from recycling mundane, permanent
and so to speak "regime-neutral" human wants, desires, and longings into the principal
propelling force of society, a force that coordinates systemic reproduction, social
integration, social stratification, and the formation of human individuals, as well as playing a
major role in the processes of individual and group self-policies.

Here are some of the main advantages and disadvantages of consumerism are as follows;

Advantages of Consumerism

 The greater the consumer spending, the better it would be for businesses, the national GDP, and
the global economy.
 It promotes fair marketing practices and the production of high-quality material goods.
 It compels businesses to keep competing to offer better products. As a result, consumers get to
use items with high-quality standards.
 The brands have to employ people with skills to produce innovative products that meet customer
requirements. As a result, talented people get better opportunities.
 It boosts the employment rate as production units need more workers and staff to accomplish
different tasks.
 Only the best brands and businesses survive, and those that do not offer satisfactory products and
services go out of the competition.
 Higher spending causes more production of products/services
 More consumption and sale benefit both owners and employees either directly or indirectly
 Dis-Advantages of Consumerism

 Material possession can become the symbol of identity and social status for individuals.
 Increased consumption may increase product prices.
 Reckless lending and issuance of credit cards at low-interest rates by banks and government
incentives for consumers to make purchases can raise debt levels and lead to recessions.
 Linking material possession with social status can cause stress, anxiety, and depression among
people.
 It affects consumers’ moral values and principles as they strive to emulate the lifestyles of their
peers.
 Besides having economic, social, and psychological consequences, it can damage the
environment through industrial pollution, waste disposal, and overexploitation of natural
resources.
 It has developed a materialistic culture and society that focuses on high quantity and costly
goods rather than quality and traditional way of production
 It promotes globalization and trade of global brands which undermine the production of local
indigenous products, and incompatible high consumption cause debt, recession, and financial
crisis.
 Many of the environmental problems occur because of the high production, spending, and
consumption; and it results in the form of wastage of resources, ultimately more pollution
 It has made the mindset of people status-conscious, and often it causes stress and anxiety in
keeping up with the social status.
 Commercialism can be both good and bad. It is good as it improves the national GDP and global
economy through increased consumer spending. On the other hand, it makes people desperate
about owning things that might not be affordable and causes depression and anxiety.

People's consumed everything that makes their life happy and to gain a good life because of this
they do not know the effects on themselves and their environment. We as consumerist tends
how to define and understand ourselves, how we affiliate with others, and the overall extent to
which we fit in with and are valued by society at large individual social and economic values are
defined and validated by spending practices, and consumerism becomes the ideological lens
through which we experience the world, what is possible for us, and our options for achieving
goals. Consumerism manipulates the probabilities of individual choices and conduct.

On the other hand, consumerism shapes us in such a way that we want to acquire material goods
not just because they are useful, but what they say about us. We want the newest and the best to
fit in with or outshine others. Thus, we experience an ever-increasing volume and intensity of
desire. In a society of consumers, joy and status are fueled by planned obsolescence, premised on
acquiring goods and disposing of them both depends on and reproduces an insatiability of desires
and needs.

Therefore, the cruel trick is that a society of consumers thrives on the inability to ever consume
enough, on the ultimate failure of the mass-produced system to satisfy anyone. While it promises
to deliver, the system only briefly does so rather than cultivating happiness, consumerism
cultivates fear of not fitting in, of not possessing the proper things, and of not signifying the right
person or social status. Consumerism is defined by perpetual dissatisfaction. Indeed,
Consumerism is defined by consumer behavior and attitude characterized by a constant desire for
a better lifestyle, regardless of how difficult it is to achieve. The more money consumers spend,
the more profits businesses make, boosting the national economy in every way.

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Bibliography
Niki Lisa Cole Ph, D. (2019, December 01). What Does Consumerism Mean? pp.
https://www.thoughtco.com/consumerism-definition-3026119.

shaw, A. a. (2021, November 14). what is Consumerism? Impact/Importance/Pros & Cons. pp.
ttps://swotandpestleanalysis.com/what-is-consumerism-impact-importance-pros-cons/.

Vaidya, D. (n.d.). Consumerism Definition. p. https://www.wallstreetmojo.com/consumerism/.