Consumerism Definition: Examples, Pros and Cons

Consumerism is an economic theory that consumer spending is the key to individual well-being and the most important factor driving a country’s economic growth. Consumerist societies measure their economic success through their gross domestic product (GDP), and consumer spending effectively increases that number. Capitalist economies depend on the consumption of goods and encourage their populations to purchase beyond their basic needs to keep the economy thriving.

Consumerism works by creating an economic system that encourages consumers to buy more through social pressure, advertising, manipulation, and the belief that you’ll be happier if you own a particular item. Examining the origins of consumerism helps explain this process.

The North American consumerism movement began during the Industrial Revolution when the production of material goods grew beyond consumers’ basic needs and interests. At this point, consumer culture did not exist, and most average citizens lived simple lives, buying only what they required to survive comfortably. To stimulate buying, manufacturers manipulated consumers with advertising. They planned obsolescence of their products by implementing business practices such as offering incentives to first-time buyers and establishing consumer credit and credit cards.

In 1899, American economist Thorstein Veblen defined the consumerism trends of the masses as conspicuous consumption or the desire to flaunt wealth and social status through consumer goods. After World War II, consumerism exploded, with spending on new homes, home appliances, and furniture increasing by 240 percent. The idea of consumerism and conspicuous consumption endured throughout the twentieth century and continues today.

Experts debate whether consumerism benefits or hurts societal ways of life. Some possible advantages of consumerism include:

1. 1. Creates jobs: Producing new products and services through consumerism requires workers. In theory, the more successful companies that grow out of consumerism, the more jobs created for civilians.
2. 2. Encourages innovation: If your company does well, you’ll most likely want to expand. Expansion means innovation, creativity, and the funds to support your new goals.
3. 3. Ensures quality: Because companies compete with one another for your business, producing high-quality material goods at a competitive price should serve their goals.
4. 4. Promotes fair prices and consumer choice: Companies compete with one another for customers in a capitalist society. Consumerism creates a market with multiple options, allowing you to search for the best price for similar products.
5. 5. Stimulates economic growth: You can think of consumerism as a merry-go-round where manufacturers create a product and everyone buys it, which increases demand, forcing manufacturers to develop more of the product. The process theoretically allows the economy to grow through more jobs, better wages, increased spending, and a rise in the gross domestic product.

Experts argue that consumerism negatively affects society and contributes to the degradation of traditional ways of life. Drawbacks of consumerism include:

1. 1. Consumer exploitation: Consumerism depends on your desire to buy things, even if it hurts you financially or psychologically to do so. It encourages reflexive consumption and an association between purchasing something and your happiness.
2. 2. Creates class barriers: Consumerism, specifically conspicuous consumption, reinforces class barriers by creating a divide between those who can afford nice things and those who cannot. Learn more about income inequality with economist Paul Krugman.
3. 3. Negative impact on the environment: Consumerism affects natural resources through overproduction. These behaviors lead to draining natural resources to extinction and creating pollution that damages the environment and leads to climate change.
4. 4. Wasteful: Disposable products and planned obsolescence mean people are buying new versions of the same things repeatedly, creating an abundance of waste.

Some examples of consumerism include:

1. 1. Auto industry: Automobile companies constantly create new cars with advanced technology and fresh features, inviting consumers to upgrade their older, functional cars. Conspicuous consumption fuels some people’s desire to drive something new.
2. 2. Meat industry: Consumer demand for meat is environmentally damaging. The land required for livestock destroys wildlife habitats and ecosystems, and the greenhouse gases created in the process contribute to climate change.
3. 3. Phone technology: Mobile phone companies notoriously create newer, faster models of their phones with improved features every year, making your old phone seem obsolete.

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