Consumerism and Identity - Essay Example

Consumerism and Identity Economic aspects of a society identify power centers in producers, workers, and consumers, whose interactions define economic systems and the level of cohesion among social classes. In a capitalistic economic system, capitalists own resources and employ workers to utilize the resources for production of goods and services. However, the private ownership and associated profit motive of economic ventures induces adverse effects of the economy on the society. This is consistent with Twitchell’s claim according to which “our commercial culture has been blamed for the rise of eating disorders, the spread of "affluenza", the epidemic of depression, the despoliation of cultural icons, the corruption of politics, the carnivalization of holy times like Christmas, and the gnat-life attention span of our youth” (Twitchell 1). In this paper I will qualify the statement that the capitalist commercial culture has been blamed for the bad experiences in the society. Argument for the Claim The society has continually faced problems that range from economic to political, and fingers point to the commercial culture of capitalism. Profit motive in the commercial sector plays an important role on food that people eat and to a great extent account for effects of other consumables. Emergence of economic concepts of cost minimization towards optimal profits play a core role as capitalists seeks less costly strategies to productions and marketing strategies for market control. In the food industry, for example, industrialization has transformed eating habits to commercially processed foods that are rich in chemicals and fats and expose consumers to eating disorders such as overweight. Using the media to penetrate into new markets also influences consumers towards the capitalists’ products and increases incidences of effects of industrial products (Twitchell 1). Economic effects of capitalism also support the claim that the commercial culture is responsible for depression and associated disorders among members of the society. Unlike in socialist culture where the society owns resources and collectivism ensures needs of every member of the society, capitalism concentrates excessive resources on a few individuals while a majority of members of the society remain in poverty and have to struggle for their needs. Human suffering due to lack of basic needs or wants therefore flourish in the society while a non-capitalist system would have resolved such conditions. The condition worsens by capitalists’ selfish interest that seeks to increase the capitalists’ possession at the expense of the working class that mainly lives in poverty. Capitalist commercial culture has also threatened social cultures and cultural figures through undermining cultural values. Competitiveness in the corporate sector and the profit orientation of capitalists has for example promoted creativity into cultural shifts in what appears as better practices and utilities. Cultures and their benefits to the society have suffered from the developments as they become inferior and lose value. High level of competition in the market and self-interest has also promoted ills such as corruption and associated consequences in substandard products that risk consumers’ lives and undermine economic growth (Twitchell 1). Established criticisms of the commercial culture also support Twitchell’s position that the culture does not benefit the society. Some oppressive conditions are manageable, especially through collective responsibility as observed in socialist culture, but self-centered interest in the capitalist culture overlooks strategies for resolving the conditions. Widening gap between economic classes is an example and explains why the poor get poorer and the rich continue to amass wealth. Capitalistic culture also undermines efforts for harmonizing living standards in the economy and promotes such acts as discrimination and exploitation to promote suffering and stress. It also limits individuals’ capacities and freedom to establish economic ground and play active roles in economic activities. Effects of economic activities, under the capitalistic culture, also explain adverse effects of the culture on the society. Effects on the environment that emanates from harmful wastes offer threats to the society. They may also aid other vices such as bribery to allow for illegal activities that threaten the environment. The need to minimize operation cost also motivates enterprises to dispose of their wastes at minimal costs through practices that may not be environmentally friendly (Wright 33-35). Threat to the environment and its effects on the society remains real as capitalism limits government forces against commercial entities, especially when the entities’ actions can be justified in law. Organizations also prefer non-renewable resources for their cheap production but these have adverse effects on the environment and people. Threats to the resources’ sustainability also mean that encountered problems due to over exploitation of the resources are likely to increase in future. Inverse relationship between capitalism and the concept of community also supports the claim that the commercial culture is responsible for most of the problems that the society faces. While community doctrines advocate for virtues like “solidarity, reciprocity, mutual concern, and mutual caring,” capitalism undermines these towards an immoral society that exposes its members to manageable sufferings (Wright 79). Counter Argument A contrary opinion however argues that the observed problems in the society should not be blamed on the commercial culture but on the society itself. It is argued that the commercial culture only reflects on the reality and is not the fundamental cause of the problems. Humans play active roles in the decisions to the problems and should assume the responsibility instead of the commercial culture. Decisions, within the capitalistic culture, such as corporate social responsibility towards environmental c and conservation and community empowerment, benefit the society. Capitalism also offers better utility that can improve people’s welfare instead of the claimed adverse effects. In addition, capitalist culture empowers economies for growth and therefore improves factors like average income and consumer power (Sanderson and Marc 258). Qualifying the Argument Twitchell’s claim that the commercial culture has been blamed is not an absolute statement because the blame is not possibly from every member of the society. Identification and quantification of the blames may also be biased as the commercial culture has significant benefits. Adverse effect of capitalism on the society, whether at micro or macro level, are however more significant than noted benefits and directly relate to the author’s examples such as eating disorders, depression, corruption, and quality of life. Argument for the claim that the commercial culture has been blamed for the problem is therefore more valid that arguments that it benefits the society. Conclusion Capitalism concentrates resources in the hands of a few people who employ labor for exploitation of the resources and for profit motive. The self-centered aspect of the culture and its profit orient identifies adverse effects on the society. Even though some benefits emerge from the commercial culture, the adverse effects are more specific and wide spread with great impacts on the society. This analysis therefore qualifies the claim that the commercial culture has been blamed for the realized social problems and argues that the problems are likely to persist unless a non-capitalistic approach is implemented. Works Cited Sanderson, Rohnn, and Marc, Mark. Beyond Naivete: Ethics, Economics, and Values. Lanham, MA: University Press of America, 2012. Print. Twitchell, James. “Two Cheers for Materialism.” New York University. 1999. Web. September 3, 2013. . Wright, Erik. Envisioning Real Utopias. London, UK: Verso, 2010. Print. Read More