The Nature of Consumerism - Essay Example

Consumerism Consumerism Introduction Consumption is the process through which goods and services are ultimately put to their final uses by the people who are then labelled consumers. Consumption, therefore, lies at the end of the rank of economic activities that begins with the evaluation of available resources, then the actual production of the goods and services, their distribution among the people. As Adam Smith argued, consumption is the solitary end and aim of all production (Smith, 1937, p. 625). Thus, the certainty that consumer consummation is the eventual economic aim, and that the economy, is; as a result, controlled by the consumer is termed as consumer sovereignty. Consumerism can be viewed as both a social and economic ideology that encourages people to acquire goods and services in ever increasing amounts. The term consumerism has been applied to refer to something quite different called consumerists’ movements, consumer protection otherwise known as consumer activism. The ultimate goal of consumer protection is to inform and protect consumers by insisting on activities such as honest advertising or packaging, product guarantees, and sometimes for improved safety and safety measures in workplaces. In this sense, consumerism can be viewed as a political movement or a functional set of policies seeking to govern the regulation of products and services all in the interest of the final consumer (Goodwin 2008). Economically, consumerism describes the economic policies while placing an obvious emphasis on the consumption patterns. It emphasis the consideration that indeed, the free choice of consumers should strongly determine or favor what is ultimately produced, how it is produced and as a result orient the economic organization of a given society. To say that people possess consumerist values or attitudes, therefore, can be construed to mean that they always want to consume more as they find meaning and satisfaction in life. This is based on the purchase of more and new consumer goods. According to Assadourian (2004), consumerism has thus emerged as a part of historical process. One that has been to catalyze creation of mass markets, cultural attitudes, and industrialization that see the rising incomes from the workforce. It is channeled to purchasing the ever-growing output. So, do we live in a consumer society? The birth of consumerism can be attributed to many different sources. Some economists attribute Adam Smith as the father of consumer ethic when he stated that “consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production” (Wealth of Nations as quoted in Hilton 2001, p. 9). Others say that consumerism took root in the United States in 1960 when President John F. Kennedy introduced the Consumer Bill of Rights. However, whatever its source, we now live , and have been living, in a consumerist society. One that has infiltrated its way through nations and individuals alike with the consumer utopia becoming the dream of many developing countries. In America, the average U.S resident consumes approximately 275 pounds of meat, uses an estimated 635 pounds of paper and consumes energy estimated at 7.8 tons of oil annually. Close to 50 years ago, the average consumer in America consumed an estimated one hundred and ninety seven pounds of meat, uses paper worth 366 pounds, and uses nearly 5.5 metric tons of oil annually. To an average economist and observer, this only serves to demonstrate how consumerism has affected the trends and changes in the consumption of different items. It has created and satisfied utility in a given baskets of goods (Hilton 2001). It has been claimed that from an economic and more realistic perspective, consumerism rather than democracy won the ideological battle of the 20th century and is currently the defining characteristic of this century. As seen in the U.S., consumerism is exemplified to the point that George Bush Sr. went ahead and declared a National Consumers Week in 1989 stating that consumption was both a right and virtue among people. In fact, following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, George W. Bush Jr. urged Americans to go shopping. He claimed that if Americans did not feel free to shop, the terrorists had then won the war (Barber 2007). Consumerism has taken such a central and vantage point to the American spirit. The point has been such that those people who willingly take a step to curb or cut on their consumption have been accused of being “un-American” (Caldwell 2007). Consumerism is now understood to be essential and good to a country and an individual. It is good as it purportedly keeps the economy growing. Consequently, it allows an individual to pursue the happiness which is expected to be at the end of a successful shopping spree or the bargaining hunt. Indeed, aggregate as well as per capita consumer spending is seen to be much greater than before while nothing seems more sacred or placed beyond the reach of consumer culture. The average person’s identity seems to be structured around consumption, and we are now defined by what we buy. In fact, you are what you buy. What are the factors than can be seen to breed and favor consumerism? Consumerism can be seen to be tied to globalization. Before the Industrial revolution, no one in any given country spent significant amount of time worth mentioning or resources on shopping for goods and services that were produced far away from home. Prior to the Industrial revolution, most of the populace lived in rural areas and practiced agriculture. Their choice of clothing and household possessions were, thus, extremely limited and, more often than not, were made by the household members or sometimes by artisans from the same village. Save for the elite and the political class who have enjoyed high and exorbitant consumer goods from earlier years, people used to live very basic lifestyles. The Industrial Revolution Era clearly transformed production and consumption. While large-scale industrialization grew from less than 3 million pounds in 1760 to more than 350 million pounds of unit annually in the 1830s, consumption did not grow nearly as much. During the early stages of industrialization, it was not very clear that the workers would eventually become consumers. With time, however, agitation from the trade unions, the political reformers as well as civic and humanitarian groups led to a pressure in better wages, working conditions and hours for the workers. The rise in productivity and profits made it possible for the businesses to respond to the pressure. The shift in paradigm in the economic interest was eventually noticed by the business leaders as seen in the Henry Ford case study. Henry Ford, the founder of Ford Motor Company, cleverly devised his wages high enough, and the price of his cars low enough such that his employees could afford to buy them. In recent times, owners of the beer and liquor companies as well as other industries have backed the notion that higher wages are vital to their lines of businesses (Caldwell 2007). One of the catalysts to consumerism is globalization. As Friedman (1999) elaborates economic globalization in his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, the driving force behind globalization is the free market capitalism. The more you let the market forces rule, the more you open up your economy to free trade and the more the competition will be. This will lead to a more efficient and flourishing economy. The idea is tied to the belief that a happy and satisfied consumer is the one who has an array of goods and services from which to choose. With the urge to satisfy the ever growing number of consumers whose needs are metamorphosing in each passing day, the level of globalization can only have an upward projection. According to a December 2000 report by the Institute of Policy Studies, 51 of the one hundred largest economies in the world are corporations with only 49 being nation states (McNally 2002). These multinational corporations are at liberty to move as they wish. They subvert any rules placed by any nation, and are ironically sought after by most countries. They are sought after because they create a great deal of wealth and employment to countries they decide to operate in. To many, globalization was first understood as a force that would bring the countries and nations together as one tribe by communications, information, entertainment and commerce. It explains the changes in consumer behaviors around the world, the adoption of eateries, cultures, spending traditions and spreading of services and goods produced at one point of the world to other parts. An example is the McDonalds, which has been able to change consumer eating cultures in Asia as well as other countries as it now operates globally. Consumerism is also seen in the politicization of consumption. As stated earlier, the consumer is the ultimate decision maker on whether a product can be certified as fit. In short, the consumer should and must be satisfied by a certain product, regardless of how choosy and absurd his demands are to the producer (Micheletti 2003). On the bright side, the idea that consumers can, therefore, exert pressure on a company that is felt to have socially or environmental damaging practices are welcome. The modern day consumer has been empowered by access to the internet that enables them to access and disseminate information quickly and to a lot of people just by the click of a button. One famous case in example of political consumerism is the anti-Nike campaign. What started as a Nike website promotion with a consumer asking to have customized items, ended up in a series of emails between the Nike representative and a consumer? Thanks to social media and the access to modern devices and the internet, the emails quickly found their way to the mass media and success in publicly shaming Nike. This practice in political consumerism has had the much desired effects of improved conditions in the work place, increasing the wages paid to the workers in factories, as well as, facilitating new and ethical business practices (Niedzviecki 2006). Another advantage of political consumerism is that, due to the pressure to give the consumers what they want, organic foods have gained popularity. The popularity has been to an extent that major retailers in the United States like Wal-Mart now stock organic food. Recently, Wal-Mart and Home Depot have declared they will be stocking and labelling environmentally friendly stuff as consumers have taken a tendency for them. Political consumerism is, therefore, capable of encouraging the companies to introduce green product lines and label GMOs in a bid to promote consumer protection (Niedzviecki 2006). Sometimes, while green products can be availed to the consumers, the forces of demand and supply have to hold. In this case, therefore, the consumer has an upper hand. The reason being that, though the manufacturer may seek to produce environmentally and health conducive products, he will conform to doing the opposite unless there are stringent legislation that prohibit such, in a bid to satisfy the consumer. Advertisement is normally justified by economists as a vital source of information pertaining the products and services that are available to the consumers. In recent times, however, the increasing number of advertisements that we see, all have their own separate messages. Messages like sympathizing with the consumer, appealing to them, and notifying them. Nevertheless, they all have the same message that, whatever they are selling is the best while still insisting that purchasing in itself is a vital source of joy and satisfaction to the consumer. To show that advertisement contribution to consumerism cannot be underestimated, an American retailing analyst by the name of Victor Lebow stated that, “our enormously productive economy demands that “we make our consumption our way of life”, that “we convert the acts of buying and the use of goods into rituals which seek our spiritual satisfaction, ego satisfaction in consumption” (Victor, 1955). Indeed, advertising has gone out of hand in the recent society with the producers seeking ways and means of appealing to the affluent to buy more and more goods at exorbitant prices as they will prove their self-worth. According to a survey by Advertising Age, a company that analyzes the advertisement industry in the United States, an estimated $144 billion was spent on radio, TV, and print advertisements in the year 2004. Spending on other forms of advertisements such as phone marketing and the Internet ads cumulatively was over $263 exceeding the annual GDP of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Denmark. The numbers have only grown exponentially. Thus, the average American and an equivalent in developed countries is exposed to close to 3000 ads daily ranging from bill boards, mails, in text books, fortune cookies among others (Holt 2000). As discussed, it is clear that we indeed live in a consumer society where the consumer decides what it is that will be produced. Where is it produced, how it will be delivered to them, and how will it be advertised. While consumerism has its advantages, critics warn that the trend is blighted with massive detrimental aftermaths. They warn that the shift and insistence on consumerism will only aggravate situations. Situations such as lifestyle diseases including obesity, excessive and misdirected consumption, surge in crimes, like shoplifting among others. It will also fuel destruction to the physical environment as a result of uncontrolled production to create utility and a contributing factor to poverty around the world. References Assadourian, E., Gardner, G and Sarin, R., 2004. The State of consumption today. In L. Stark (Ed), State of the world 2004: A world watch institute report on progress toward a sustainable society. (pp. xvii-xix). W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., New York. Barber, B. R., 2007. Consumed: How markets corrupts children, infantilize adults and swallow citizens whole. W.W Norton and Company, Inc., New York. Caldwell, R., 2007. Less: not buying anything. The Globe and mail, p. F7. Freidman, T. L., 1999. The Lexus and the olive tree. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York. Goodwin, N., Nelson, A. J., 2008. Consumption and the consumer society. Tufts University Global Development and Environment Institute Press, Medford, MA. Holt, D. B and Schor, J. B. (Eds.), 2000. The consumer reader society, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc, New York. McNally, D., 2002. Another world is possible: globalization and anti-capitalism, Arbeiter Ring Publishing, Winnipeg. Micheletti, M., 2003. Political virtue and shopping: individuals, consumerism and collective action. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire and New York. Niedzviecki, H., 2006. Hello, I am special: How individuality became the new conformity. City Light Books, San Franscisco. Statistics from the World Resource Institute’s Earthtrends database. http://www.wri.org/our-work/project/earthtrends-environmental-information. [Accessed on 31 October 2014]. Victor, L., 1955. Journal of Retailing. In Hilton 2001. How much is enough? Norton Press, New York. Read More