Introduction
The concept of consumption and consumerism involves a situation in which people are continually purchasing and using products mainly promoted by a capitalist economy. Virtually, the current society consists of consumers, making consumption and consumerism a part of the modern life. Ideally, consumption and consumerism determine the level of demand as well as the level production. Additionally, all innovations around the world are geared towards satisfying the consumers’ needs. As the consumers buy products in bulk, the economy develops, which in turn sustains the political class (Miles 148). Ironically, the consumers do not get much recognition, and they are continually manipulated and indirectly forced to purchase and use goods. Ideally, producers usually view customers as product addicts. Bauman (29) regards consumers as a commodity just like the products they advertise.
The purpose of this is to determine how consumption and consumerism promote spending, leading to disparity in resource distribution. It focuses on some of the arguments that favor the use of goods in consumerism society. Also, it explains why a small population owns most of the resources while a large percentage scrambles for the remaining few resources. Some of these factors include production ideology that makes producers produce more products, the emergence of dominant groups (hegemony), neo-conservatism that encourages citizens to be loyal and transformative. Additionally, it examines how branding forces citizens of North America to purchase and use product continuously. The last section of this term paper highlights the impacts of consumption and consumerism to both the country and its citizens.
Consumption is the process of choosing, purchasing and using commodities and services. In the 1980s, use of products was seen as a cultural and economic action. Nevertheless, modern societies don’t hold these connections anymore. Importantly, the consumer is the last element in the chain of economic activities. The chain of production begins with the acquisition of raw materials then proceeds to the creation of products and dissemination of the goods. According to Denzin (325), people do not use products to meet their needs; instead, utilization of products is integrated into their social systems. Most importantly, consumption should exist in a society where there is production; hence, producers require consumers.
Arguments that favor consumption
Consumers are very vital in the economy due to two reasons. First, Smith and Saligman (65) state that the primary purpose of economic activities is consumption. They continue to say that activities such as product creation and dissemination are meant to enhance the status of the consumer. Hence, the user justifies the existence of economic activities. Secondly, the consumer fuels the economy by creating the demand for commodities. Ideally, if there were no demand, the suppliers who initiate the chain of economic activities would not exist.
Justification for the distribution of resources
Production ideology and emergence of dominant groups: the wealthy people believe that they must continually produce goods to meet needs of their fellow citizens. For instance, large companies such as Apple, continuously improve their mobile phones to satisfy the needs of the changing generation. Most importantly, the consumers of these products are still employees of the company or other large corporations. Thus, when they buy the goods, the producer gets profit and consequently the ability to produce additional products. Therefore, most of the resources circulate among the dominant groups, and that's why they continue to acquire wealth.
Faces of Consumerism
Consumerism has five faces. First, it is a moral ideology in the economically advanced nations. In this aspect, consumerism is regarded as a means for one to be happy, express liberty, purchase and consume services and products. This view displays consumerism as an expression of fairness and status; thus, it encourages people to buy and consume more goods and services, consequently creating wealth for the wealthy people.
Second, consumerism is prestige; material possessions determine the social status of an individual in the society. Consumers no longer connect consumption to political affiliation, religious activities or even work. Third, consumerism is viewed as a means of developing internationally. Since modern consumers want to showcase high living standards, they continually promote capitalism. This aspect leads to the emergence of transnational corporations which undermine the rights of the local citizens. Also, this feature manifest in the establishment of global relationships, including business links, foreign aids, and implementation of policies.
Fourth, consumption is viewed in political ideology perspective. Politics and utilization of goods are connected in that politicians promote the use of commodities. The political class regards dominant enterprises as offering high-quality and standard products. The state also implements policies to make the products affordable to the consumers and thus promoting the culture of consumption.
Lastly, consumerism is viewed as a way of promoting and protecting the rights of citizens. The change in consumption trends has seen the emergence of consumer protection agencies. Importantly, these organizations address quality of products without addressing the price levels.
Gabriel and Lang (n.p.) highlight three aspects of consumption capitalist nature. First, it has history character; the modern use of goods came into being due to changes in history. Hence, consumption didn’t emerge due to current changes; it is a transition aspect. Additionally, people are now attracted to customized products than mass-produced commodities. Branding has brought a change in the consumption trends and consumers are ready to pay higher amounts for high-quality products (Ritzer 20). Also, consumption trends have shifted from goods to services such as health, education, and fast foods.
Second, consumerism is an international nature; it impacts foreign relationships, global businesses, and it affects mainly the poor. Importantly, large corporations are the major players in the consumerism since they drive their operations into the international market, which allows them to gain huge profits.
Third, the link between product creation and consumerism; in the light of the above two views, consumption and consumerism are substantially related to development in that they impact production.
How branding pushes people to consume in North America
Although consumption is mainly by choice, branding significantly affects consumption trends in North America. Most importantly, branding forces people to buy and use products. Using customized products such as cars, jets and ships is seen as an expression of one's social status. Further, the emergence of numerous companies that offer customized goods forces people to adopt branded products. Thus, consumers buy and use such products since they are continuously produced. Even the citizens who belong to the middle class are still forced to consume branded goods such as clothes, utensils, and other household tools.
Apart from customized products, people are compelled to consume goods produced by specific companies. Ideally, some companies have political affiliations, and that’s why people purchase their products. For instance, some American citizens link McDonalds to President Donald Regan. Upon the president’s visit to one of the restaurant’s outlet, most people adopted the company’s fast food idea. The belief is that some companies offer high-quality products than others.
Ideologies that promote consumption and consumerism while creating disparity in resource distribution
Neo-conservatism
The North America still holds the neo-conservatism ideology which primarily encourages American citizens to practice democracy (Vaïsse and Goldhammer 6). Additionally, this doctrine promotes loyalty to the country’s interests and affairs. Through neo-conservatism, the United States citizens are forced to purchase more products so as to express democracy. In essence, consumers show pride in their companies when people buy products in bulk. Another aspect of neo-conservatism ideology is ensuring economic growth. Since consumers are the end elements in the chain of economic activities, they continually purchase products with an aim of ensuring economic growth.
Neo-liberalism
According to Chernow and Vallasi (1215), neo-liberalism promotes free trade, reduction in the state expenditure and privatization. Evidently, this ideology encourages private individuals to take part in the economic activities with an aim of driving economic growth. This ideology forces consumers to buy and use goods since they think that they are promoting economic growth.
However, the ideology of neoliberalism leads to the emergence of cartels who manipulate the consumers. Privatization reduces government involvement in business activities, and this action makes some essential services be left in the hands of the private sector. This factor allows private individuals to control prices, making consumers spend more. This way, a small portion of the population holds more resources as compared to the large percentage of the citizens. Also, free trade allows companies to set their prices without government regulation.
Transformative
Transformative ideology is whereby individuals experience transformation in their life such as convictions, changes in self-knowledge or living style. Evidently, the transformative thinking convinces people to consume more. For instance, consumers may change lifestyle whereby they shift from purchasing low-quality goods to high-quality commodities. In this case, the consumers are forced to spend more as they try to sustain the new way of life. Change in understanding also promotes the notion of consumerism and consumption.
Hegemony
The United States is dominated by two large parties, the Republican and Democrats. The Hegemony of United States encourages the ideology of maintaining stable economic condition, enforcing free trade rules, engaging other nations with an aim of eliminating global market barriers, and enhancing imports with an aim of increasing economic growth. Dominant groups have the control of vital sectors, and they use the power to their advantage. Key quarters of the economy like schools and media enterprises are in control of the dominant groups. Mainly, these groups implement procedures that make it hard for the other population to acquire resources.
Importation of more products leads to more purchases and use. Additionally, free global market encourages countries to produces more products with an aim of achieving massive sales from the international market. Most importantly, these factors exploit the final consumer since they benefit the wealthy who act as middlemen and retailers of the produced goods.
The Triangle Model
This model helps in the examination of authority expression via the connection of ideologies such as social transactions and personal activities (Britt 701). Also, the triangle models assist in the identification of how societal beliefs create social problems and how society organizations strengthen these ideas. The triangle model also identifies “pressure points” and how people react to changes. Ideally, people tend to change with trends, and this fact justifies the consumption nature of individuals. Also, people usually view changes as positive, and that is why they result to bulk buying and utilization.
Impacts of Consumption and Consumerism
Consumption and consumerism primarily promote more production and massive purchases. The GDP is determined by the total goods produced. Hence, high purchasing power is viewed as economic prosperity. Ideally, in a consumerism society, worn-out products are replaced with new ones. Thus, the social status is determined by their material possessions.
Consumption and consumerism lead to higher industrial production. Since citizens require new products, the companies are forced to produce more. Also, this trend leads to economic growth. Huge demand leads to expansion of businesses, an increase of economic activities and the creation of jobs, which enhance the growth of the economy. Further, more products are made available. The availability of many products offers consumers a wide range of choices. These goods come at different prices, enabling customers to acquire their preferences. Above all, consumption and consumerism lead to better life for the citizens of the United States.
However, there are adverse impacts of consumption and consumerism. In a consumerist society, economic development is decided by material possession of the citizens. In that case, the spiritual and cultural values of the citizens are not considered. Additionally, the consumption ideology affects ecological balance. As firms seek to produce more goods, a lot of pressure is exerted on the natural resources. Evidently, global warming is as a result of consumerism nature. A lot of carbon monoxide gets into the environment due to the production means and the availability of many vehicles on the modern roads.
Conclusion
Conclusively, consumption and consumerism lead to more production and consumption. In a society that practices consumerism such as the United States, the economic growth is measured through citizen's material possession. Neo-conservatism, neo-liberalism, transformative and hegemony are some of the ideologies that promote consumerism as well as the disparity in resources distribution. The emergence of dominant groups, production and consumer ideas allow the producers to produce more since they are sure of a market. Importantly, consumption and consumerism have both adverse and positive impacts. This approach leads to economic development and the creation of jobs. Also, consumerism raises the living standards of people, making them have a good life. However, massive production exerts pressure on resources and can cause depletion of vital resources. Additionally, some consumption traits such as the purchase of vehicles emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and can cause global warming.
References
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