The Role of Materialism and Religion in the Spread of Global Consumption - Literature review Example

The role of materialism and religion in the spread of global consumption or brands A focus on the global consumption reveals varying trends across various regions, cultures, social classes and religions across the globe. For example, consumption of certain brands of products is found to be higher among the wealthy while levels of penetration of brands are also found to differ across different religions. Many factors have been found to affect consumers behavior and hence the spread of global consumption or brands (Michael and Garry, 2007). This explains the varying patterns of consumption across the world. Such factors include the people’s culture which greatly influences the buying behavior in different countries. Aspects of culture that influence consumption include nationality, religion, racial group and geographical region. The social class that a one belongs also greatly influences what he or she consumes. For example certain brands of products are exceptionally thought to belong to the rich. Other factors that have influence on the spread of global consumption or brands include social factors such as families and social status and personal factors such as age and occupation. This paper aims at examining the role played by materialism and religion in the spread of global consumption or brands. In other words, how might materialism and religion help or hinder the spread of a global consumption culture? Materialism Materialism can be defined as the belief that all that maters is ones physical well being and having worldly possessions that lead to the greatest good and add the highest value to life as opposed to spiritual or other ideals. According to Marieke (2004), materialism is mainly concerned with great regard for worldly concerns. Materialistic people therefore seek to attain the greatest value for their lives by acquiring the best things in life. To them, the most expensive and latest brands tend to add more value to life than ordinary items. They would want to acquire brands that are associated with wealth and power. Materialism has therefore led to people grouping themselves into social classes where some brands of products are associated with certain classes or the rich and are considered luxuries. Therefore, materialism tends to promote (help) in the spread of a global consumption culture as people always want to acquire and consume the most expensive and prestigious brands of products across the globe. Floyd (2005), views materialism as a set of centrally held morals on the importance of material possessions in a person’s life considered as a very important life value. It is a way of obtaining symbolic immortality in cultures where it is considered a life’s value. Human beings therefore pursue material possessions to cover their final fate and hence obtain a feeling of security. Scholars have therefore suggested that materialism stems from the human desire to overcome death. This being the case, many people are always after material possessions in order to veil death as everyone is mortal. This way, materialism has greatly contributed to the spread of global consumption or brands. Materialism has been found to affect the level of global consumption with the materialistic being influenced by social visibility and status, prestige and quality. Therefore, materialists are not just interested with functional product attributes but also such characteristics as appearance and the brand name of the product. Globalization of culture and ideals has fostered surfacing and dissemination of materialism globally. Of late, the previously communist societies are turning to capitalism. Furthermore, former third world countries are becoming more affluent. This has greatly boosted the demand for luxurious and conspicuously consumed items and hence the spread of different brands of products across the globe. This is because nowadays everyone wants to be associated with brands that are considered valuable and powerful unlike in the previous times when materialism was not the global focus. Daniel (2008) argues that this can be considered to be a positive impact of materialism on the spread of a global consumption culture. Brands that are almost becoming global as a result of materialism include beauty products by such companies such as GNLD and oriflamme and vehicle brands such as like Toyota, Nissan etc, Sometimes consumption of goods carries with it symbolic meaning i.e. each material good can have its individual meaning. For example, gold can communicate a message of power and wealth. These meanings (messages) can only be socially created and shared by possessing the material objects. According to Scrib.com (2007), people acquire these objects in order to acquire the symbolic meaning attached to the objects and define their own identity. In the modern world, branding acts as a means to permeate unique and emblematic meaning to material objects. While a brand name has practical efficacy in signifying the value of a product, it also serves as a device which attach artistic value to a product and indicate social and economic status. Advertising plays a great role in creating and disseminating brand meaning by helping the society to be aware and share the symbolic sense of brands and thus allowing for consensual corroboration of the meaning. Due tom their materialistic nature, people will go for conspicuous consumption that will bestow a sign of status and wealth. Owing to the fact that symbolic meaning of power and wealth is only obtained through consumption of material things, brand consumption is greatly influenced by the hunt of materialism as a cultural worldview. This is because many people prefer brand names that indicate materialism due to their materialistic nature. Materialism also leads to compulsive consumption which is chronic and repetitive purchasing which is primarily associated with negative events and feelings. This leads to a buying behavior that is characterized by excessive or uncontrolled buying. This behavior eventually becomes repetitive. Generally, people believe that money or material things have symbolic abilities to enhance ones self esteem. Furthermore most people attach great importance to money and material things as a means of solving their problems. As people attempt to solve their problems through the use of material things, they tend to go for the most sophisticated brands of products .people therefore become compulsive consumers of such brands. In so doing, this helps in spreading global consumption. This compulsive consumption coupled with the hunt for the most sophisticated brands of products that greatly improves a person’s has led to the sharp rise in consumption globally of late. This has made some brands to become global and have become part of the global culture. Gad (2007) argues that materialism can be blamed for hindering consumption among the poor. This is for the reason that the underprivileged do not have the means to acquire material possessions. A study carried out in 2005 suggested that 80 percent of all private consumption globally was by 20 percent of the rich in the world while only 20 percent of the consumption was by the poor. This probably explains why brand penetration in the developing countries is very low. This is because the rich continue amassing wealth while the poor continue to be poorer. However, materialism can generally be said to have played a major role in the spread of global consumption or brands. Religion Religion plays a great role in the spread of global consumption or brands (Vincent, 2005). Different religions have different religious practices. These practices and believes to a large extent dictate and determine what the followers of such religions consume and what not to consume. A focus on private consumption globally will reveal varying trends in the spread of brands depending on the religions practiced by people in different regions. For example, while brands of certain products may be found in abundance in regions where Christianity is practiced, they may be lacking in regions practicing Islam depending on whether Islam permits the use of such products. How religion helps in the spread of global consumption The Abrahamic religions are found in different regions of the world. They are represented in every continent and almost in every country of the world. A good example is Christianity and Islam which has spread in almost every corner of the world. The different religions have different religious practices which encourage the use of different brands of products during the practices. For example, the Christian Holy Communion encourages the use of wine to symbolize the blood of Jesus. Since Christians are found in all the regions of the world, the practice of Holy Communion has encouraged the spread and consumption of different brands of wine globally as it is a major ingredient of the Holy Communion. Similarly, different religions use different brands of oils for anointing purposes thus encouraging the spread of such brands. The Shinto religion of Japan uses salt for ritual purification purposes and hence this practice has become part of their culture. Stephen (2009) argues that religion also encourages the spread of global consumption by encouraging their followers to dress in a certain manner. This being the case, such religious clothing will be found in all regions of the globe where such a religion is practiced. A good example is the Islamic kind of clothing. Muslims from all the regions of the world dress in a similar manner regardless of the continent or country they come from. This way, Islam has helped in the spread of such clothing. Christianity has also identified Sunday as their day of worship. During Sundays, the Christian culture encourages Christians to dress in a manner that befits the day. This has led to many Christians acquiring the best brands of clothing to be used specifically for this day. This way, Christianity has helped in the spread of consumption of such brands of clothing. Similarly, certain African traditional religions also adopt lifestyles that encourage their members to dress in a unique manner. They also encourage members to consume certain brands of products. For example, they encourage members to only use some specific brands of cooking oils. In this way, they serve to spread the use of such brands. How religion hinders the spread of a global consumption culture Despite the fact that religion has played a great role in the spread of a global consumption culture, it has also been blamed for discouraging members from consumption of certain products. This has greatly hindered the spread of a global consumption culture. All the religions across the globe discourage the consumption of tobacco and other detrimental drugs. Although this is a good measure to ensure that members live healthy lives, it has in no doubt discouraged the spread of such brands. Most religions also openly condemn the consumption of alcohol similarly hindering the spread of such brands. Religions also discourage members from consuming certain types of foods. For example, it is considered a sin in Islam to eat pig products. Therefore, it is highly unlike that businesses dealing with pork products will do well in a Muslim dominated society. Thus this acts to hinder the spread of a global consumption culture. Similarly, the Hindu religion does not encourage the consumption of beef or beef products. In the same case, most African traditional religions discourage members from consumption of meat and consider it as evil and hence hinder the spread of a global consumption culture (Kiefer and Steve, 2009). Some religions are also known for discouraging their followers from wearing in a certain manner. For example, some religions forbid their women from wearing trousers. A business dealing with selling women trousers in such a setting is therefore not likely to make a lot of sales. In this way, religion is seen as hindering consumption of such products. Similarly, some religions discourage members from listening to some types of music. They only allow their members to listen to religious music. Some religions even consider it evil for members to live so much prestigious lives claiming that the world is coming to an end. As such certain brands of products that seem complicated are considered evil. This way, religion acts to hinder the spread of a global consumption culture (Robert, 2005). Conclusion From the discussion, it has been established that materialism has greatly helped in the spread of a global consumption culture. This has been to a great extent boosted by the rise of capitalism and the end of communism. Similarly, certain religious practices act to encourage the spread of global consumption or brands while others act to discourage the spread of a global consumption culture. As such, marketers must consider the religion of their prospective customers in designing the products to offer to the market and also consider whether they are materialistic or not. This way, marketers will be assured of success in their efforts. References: Michael, R & Garry, B 2007, Consumer behavior, Prentice Hall, London. Marieke, K 2004, Consumer behavior and culture: consequences for global marketing and advertising, Sage publications, London. Floyd, W 2005, Meaning, measure and morality of materialism, oxford university press, Oxford. Daniel, M 2008, Consumption: Critical concepts in the social sciences, Taylor and Francis, Stockholm. Scrib.com 2007 understanding materialism: A terror management perspective, viewed 21 June 2010, http://www.scribd.com/doc/17238756/Understanding-Materialistic-Consumption- Gad, G 2007, The evolutionary bases of consumption: marketing and consumer psychology series, Oxford University press, Oxford. Vincent, J 2005, Consuming religion: Christian faith and practice in a consumer culture, Continuum International Publishing House, New York. Stephen, H 2009, Religion and every day life, Routledge, London. Robert, W 2005, The anxieties of affluence: Critiques of American consumer culture, Chicago University Press, Chicago. Kiefer, L & Steve, C 2009, Global marketing management: changes, challenges and new strategies, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Read More