Consumerism (or Consumerism, Consumerism) is a type of activity of a modern man in the street, a resident of a capitalist country, aimed at the unrestrained consumption of non-essential goods. This is when the meaning of people's life lies in consumerism, in the acquisition of various goods and services, in bragging about their consumption among other people, etc. Consumerism is an indispensable phenomenon in every capitalist society.
First, let's sort out the terms with you. Do not confuse the terms "consumption" and "consumption". Some people who do not know the essence of the issue tend to claim that they are the same thing, and thus praise their way of life. They refer to the fact that each person, to one degree or another, consumes certain goods and services, spending money on them, and, therefore, there is nothing wrong with that, and their way of life is beautiful.
But in reality, this is not the case. Yes, indeed, every person consumes certain goods and services, but not every person is engaged in consumption. Consumption is precisely unrestrained consumption, when a person purchases goods that are not vital for him. For example, we all need food, clothing and other goods, and we all consume them. But these are necessary goods, they are necessary for our life, we cannot live without them, but we can well live without a new smartphone or an expensive car, fashionable clothes or delicious delicacies. Therefore, some people confuse simple consumption with consumption. That, supposedly, one cannot do without it, we are all consumers. Yes, of course, we are all consumers, but not all of us are engaged in consumerism.
Consumerism is a natural attribute of any capitalist society and is artificially stimulated by the capitalists. If consumers (i.e. just people) consume only the most essential things, i.e. everything is only out of necessity, then the capitalist will not have such a profit and will go broke. The most popular example in this area is light bulbs, there is even an Israeli TV documentary “The Light Bulb Effect”, which tells about a necessary attribute of any capitalist society - the planned aging of the product. The film showed an example on light bulbs, and it was told that technology, about a hundred years ago, already made it possible to produce bulbs that could serve for many years and even decades without burning out. At the same time, our bulbs, which we buy in stores, often burn out,which makes us change them often, buying new ones. If the light bulbs serve us faithfully for 50 years, then the capitalist, the company that produces the lamps, will simply go bankrupt and have no profit.
Each of us who studied economics at some educational institution remembers the famous phrase - "demand creates supply", but this phrase is outdated a hundred years ago and is not correct now. It says that the capitalist begins production of a particular product if there is a demand for the product among consumers. However, in the modern world, everything is not the same as it is written in textbooks: supply creates demand, i.e. initially, it is the supply of this or that product or service, and only then the demand for it is formed among the population.
And all because most of the capitalists sell non-essential goods, which are not needed at all for the life of our body and are, in fact, garbage goods. There are a lot of such goods, from Coca-Cola to various gadgets.
If I produce a product that no one knows anything about, then most likely they will not take it. Therefore, I have to introduce the consumer to my product and create an artificial demand for it. Then the consumer will feel uncomfortable without this product and will try with all his might to purchase it.
Demand is created by advertising, both directly, videos / banners, and in a hidden form, in films and programs. Marketing specialists and lobbyists are engaged in the promotion of goods, i.e. those people who live on our money (because they are paid by the manufacturers of goods that they sell to us) and at the same time snatch us various things and services. They create demand in our brains, form a desire to master this product, give away our money, which we will earn somewhere. At the same time, can you imagine what part of our income goes to non-essential goods that we do not need at all? The work of marketers and the processes of getting us all sorts of things can be seen in the feature film 99 Francs.
Promotional video:
WHY IS CONSUMPTION SO ATTRACTIVE?
If we compare the two systems, the communist system of the Soviet Union and the capitalist system of any Western country (USA, Japan, France, West Germany, etc.), then we can conclude that the Soviet model, whose ideal was to create a just society, moved to direction of building communism, while the capitalist model does not set itself the task of building such a society - it is aimed at individual freedom and independence of the citizen, free market and freedom of entrepreneurship.
The Soviet Union lost the Cold War because it bet on non-acquisitiveness, asceticism, on High ideals, on the Dream of a bright, fair future, without wars and disasters, where every citizen will have equal rights and needs. And capitalist society won, because it put it on consumerism, on the craving of people to consume and acquire, profit and greed. Animal instincts prevailed over High ideals.
Remember what comes first to the minds of people who compare the economic situation of two countries (USSR and USA)? And what comes to mind is that in the USSR there were empty shelves during the time of shortages, and in America at the same time there was an abundance of various goods. It turns out that it is commodities, their abundance and variety, that play a key role in the economic aspects of these two systems. People peck at all this colorful tinsel, bright wrappers, a variety of goods, food, clothing and other surplus. They can be caught, like a fish for bait, with these goods. This is what the bourgeoisie is doing.
People were possessed by a craving for consumerism, they wanted to consume and own various objects. The former ideals of universal justice and equality ceased to attract them, and their souls were given to the golden calf. One can argue for a long time which system was better, but I am not talking about this now, but about the fact that consumerism is peculiar to a person precisely as a substitution of any high, spiritual, ideal concepts for material, tangible objects. Therefore, consumerism is not just a craving for the acquisition of objects, but precisely the replacement of the Higher meanings and the Great goals of society.
After all, you will not argue with the statement that in order for a society to develop, it needs some ideas. Well, to move in some direction. Whether it be some kind of religious doctrine or completely godless communism. And without any vector, society will not be able to move. And consumerism is a surrogate for such higher meanings, and all the goals and meanings of such a society are limited to only one consumption.
See for yourself, what was the goal of the average Arabian? General Caliphate and the promotion of Islam to other peoples. What was the purpose of the Christians? Preaching the Word of God to other nations. What was the goal of the communists? Establishing a just society around the world. And what is the goal of a modern inhabitant of a capitalist country? Well, that is with you and me and all our neighbors, ordinary inhabitants. Do we dream of creating a just society? Not. Are we striving to build communism? Not. What then do we want? We only wish to earn as much money as possible in order to buy various goods, a car, a house, a summer residence, fashionable clothes, and interior items. We want to be secured and not deny ourselves anything. Travel constantly, eat delicious food, dress in good clothes and live in a good house, drive an expensive car, etc.etc.
That is, in simple terms, a modern person dreams of consuming. Eat, drink, sleep, reproduce, have fun, rest. But is this something great? These are simple animal needs. It turns out that a person dreams only of satisfying his animal needs, his idleness and nothing else. And the Soviet Union lost the battle, because it bet on the fact that man will overcome his animal needs and follow something lofty, but the Western model of a consumer society turned out to be more attractive, because it does not imply labor and effort over his vices, idleness and animals instincts - she insists that this is the norm and that a person should behave this way.
Let us take, for example, such a criterion of the success of certain countries as GDP. Agree that it is now customary to judge the standard of living of a country by its GDP per capita. Those. countries with higher GDP are by default considered better than those with lower GDP. But what does Gross Domestic Product really mean and is it worth paying such attention to?
GDP is a measure of the value of all goods and services produced in a country per year. But look what happens. For example, I do not use the services of a hairdresser, but I get my hair cut myself, and one of my friends goes to the hairdresser and pays for his service with money, while we are both happy and neither me nor him bothers. The hairdresser who cut my friend's hair thereby produced the product that I sold to him, but I did not produce the product, because I cut my hair myself. It turns out that my friend, by the act of his consumption of the services of a hairdresser, contributed to the increase in the country's GDP, but I did not contribute.
The volume of total consumer spending of the population of Russia, 2005-2015, trillion. rubles. Source: Rosstat.
And there are many countries and societies in which it is not customary to buy certain services, but it is customary to do it yourself. At the same time, their standard of living does not fall due to the fact that they take care of themselves and do not hire someone, while the GDP, with general equal indicators, will be lower than those who use the services. Those. it turns out that the more we consume goods and services that are produced in our country, the higher its GDP. It turns out that GDP is an indicator of consumption, and hence of consumption. This means that countries with a higher GDP are considered to be bigger consumers than others. This means that people living in these countries are more susceptible to consumption than in others.
It turns out that the criterion for the quality of life is the availability of goods and services that can be purchased in a particular country, and people who look at the GDP when assessing the quality of life are more susceptible to consumption.
CONSUMPTION AS A RELIGION
From the early 1960s to 2000, personal spending on the consumption of goods and services in the world increased from 5 billion to 20 billion a year. This indicates a significant increase in global consumption. Small shopkeepers are increasingly being squeezed out by large retail chains and supermarkets. More and more sophisticated conditions are being created to increase the attractiveness of a product, manipulative technologies are used, marketing is evolving. In this regard, such a phenomenon as shopping was born - when the purchase of certain goods and services becomes just a way of spending time, a kind of leisure, rest from work.
Consumerism in our country today is so strongly entrenched that for many it has become a kind of substitute for religion, and the presence / absence of goods is a criterion for the quality of life. If there are few goods, it means that life is worse, if there is a complete abundance in stores, then life is better - this stereotype lies in our heads, even among those who are against consumption. From the cradle to us from everywhere there is an information attack of various advertisements and propaganda of such a lifestyle. In films, books - everywhere. The films and books that portray such behavior as a blessing are very popular among the population. It is these information products that are becoming popular.
Consumerism is modern paganism, belief in the golden calf and service to mammon. Consumerism is a cult of objects, goods and services, a cult of success as an element of wealth and love of money. If in Soviet times someone who created something new was considered a successful person, for example, an engineer, an academician, a representative of science, then in a consumer society it is a rich person who is considered successful. What associations do you have when you hear the phrase "successful person"? I think the overwhelming majority of you will immediately imagine in your head some kind of rich oligarch, owner of corporations, perhaps on your yacht somewhere in the sea or in a luxurious villa, or maybe just in an expensive car. But in Soviet times it was different, in Soviet times there was an association with scientists, cosmonauts, academicians, professors, etc.
John Rockefeller, American billionaire, a model of a successful person in the mind of a * consumer *.
Sergey Korolev, the founder of practical cosmonautics in the USSR, an example of a successful person in the mind of a * moderate non-possessor *.
Much of science now works solely to enhance and sustain this phenomenon. Science is led by the bearers of capital, those who pay grants for certain scientific discoveries and inventions. If during the Cold War, science from both sides, as a result of the arms race, was engaged in global things such as space, now science serves only as a tool in the hands of the capitalist.
You say - space? And what happened to him? Do you really think that humanity has made great progress in it? When was the landing of a man on the moon (even if it was purely hypothetical, not really proven)? But if in those distant times a man managed to land on the moon, then why did he not do anything like this again? It is only now that they started talking about the colonization of Mars (and this is done by one charlatan), but how much more water will flow until the first attempts to enter this planet are made. Capitalists, bearers of big capital, the richest families and owners of supranational corporations do not need space, all they need is to have satellites in orbit - that's all. The capitalists need to earn money, profit from you and me, driving us deeper and deeper into the abyss of consumerism. The capitalist does not aim to achieve the common good,so that every person is fed, the capitalist thinks only about his own well-being, and all his actions are aimed only at this.
ALTERNATIVE TO CONSUMPTION
An alternative to the consumable lifestyle is moderate non-acquisitiveness. Those. it is living within your means and shopping according to your needs, no frills. If I am hungry, I buy food and consume it, if my clothes are worn out, I can use the service of a tailor to sew them up, or buy new ones. I don’t buy new clothes just because I’m tired of walking in old ones and my girlfriend / friend walks in more expensive and more beautiful clothes, touching me for a living (“and why am I worse than him / her!”). I do not indulge in gluttony and treat food simply as a source of nutrients that my body needs.
I save my money and don't throw it left and right. I do not take loans to buy myself some expensive thing, but borrow from friends, and also save money that I have not spent on what a modern qualified consumer spends on. Or I completely refuse this thing.
Do not give the act of consumption so much attention and do not try to idealize it. A purchase is just a purchase and nothing more, it is an acquisition of something out of necessity, out of need, but the very fact of purchase and the possibility of mastering a thing should not mean anything to you. Consumerism is based on the fact that the process of acquiring something is accompanied by emotional content, the joy of acquiring something. With moderate non-covetousness, there should be no emotion when buying.
An example would be a situation where you buy something, for example, for your firm or director. Let's say office supplies, or printer paper, or some supplies, and your job title is a supplier. At the same time, you do not experience any positive emotions - you just buy goods and try to get rid of this action as soon as possible. In the same way, any other purchase of goods and services you need should be carried out: bought to get rid of, just to satisfy the need.
It is not at all necessary to bring the matter to asceticism and live from hand to mouth: the essence of moderate non-acquisitiveness is simply to remove that feeling of emotional high that arises during shopping and possession of things. So that there is simply no question of shopping as a leisure and something that can cause you positive emotions, joy, satisfaction. You need to get positive emotions from other activities, but not from purchases.
The appeal of consumerism lies in the fact that besides it, a person has not so many leisure activities. All these vivid and colorful emotions that a person receives from spending money on various goods and services recolor the dull picture of the world in which he could live without consumption. Getting used to all these colors of life (or rather, the colors and neon lights of shopping centers), a person is no longer able to return to the old, moderate lifestyle and consumption. Consumerism is a drug, consumer actions stimulate the production of pleasure hormones, to which a person gets used. He cannot refuse these hormones, and, most importantly, he does not understand why! When from all the cracks he is told that it is necessary to do this and "Take everything from life!", Then take the gray,an alternative position of moderate non-acquisitiveness is no longer possible for a person.
Why get bored when you can have fun, why deny yourself something, when you can not deny, giving free rein to your desires and "wishes"? Why such a life when there could be another? But in fact, this is a delusion. A person who thinks like this is mistaken. A qualified consumer, having no Higher meanings, Ideas, aspirations before him, without all this will really be terribly bored and idle. Therefore, in order not to mess around, he is engaged in imitation of vigorous activity - i.e. consumerism. He is having fun, having fun, considering it a serious occupation and a noble deed. That, here, he is supposedly busy with business, and, achieving success in it (for example, by winning a game), he believes that he spent the time with benefit, because it’s still better than wandering around the gateways. And the people around him also reinforce his confidence by saying,that he is great. - “I beat an opponent in this or that game” (be it computer, board or sports). - "Oh, what a fine fellow you are!" As a rest it is good, but not as a main business.
A person devotes his life to consumerism because he has emptiness inside him. To fill this void, he is forced to look for some options, and the simplest options are those that marketers offer a person, i.e. life for the sake of material enrichment, tangible benefits, ever-increasing comfort.
However, a person with an alternative form of consciousness, as a rule, does not need these simulacra (substitutes), because he has a really worthwhile work of his life, a work to which he is able to devote his life and his time. When a person does not sit his pants in some office of some regular company selling us something that is not necessary, but is engaged in a business that is really interesting to him with passion, giving all his best for him. Why would such a person need all this bright tinsel, wrappers, shapes and shells? He has a job that brings him complete moral and physical satisfaction.
Author: Oleg Prikhodko