by Russell Gurney

Created on: February 09, 2009

The pros and cons of consumerism... Wait, pros? There are pros to consumerism? Really?

The only pro I can think of is that being a consumer makes it easier for us to survive. We have needs and businesses supply us with whatever it is we need, be it food, drink, transportation, porn, or even socks. At the heart of consumerism is the goal to make it as easy as possible for us to consume. The more the better, the faster the better. So at least there is one good thing about it. We can satisfy our needs quickly and effectively, as long as we use a little common sense, of course.

If I were someone else, say, a fast food store chairman, then I would say that another pro to consumerism is that we are easy to exploit and therefore it's a good opportunity to make money. But, avast, I am not in any way connected to any fast food stores. So I see this as another con.

I can list the cons of consumerism like there's no tomorrow. But I'll only write about the big ones.

First, is pollution. Both environmental and mental. Not only does extreme consumerism (as we have here in North America) exploit the environment for resources, it also dumps everything else it doesn't want, causing more damage. We take, form, use, then discard everything we make. For people to consume more, they need a better/more jobs to earn more money. So they end up needing a car to get to that job. Which also adds to pollution, and brings about the need for more roads, beginning a snowball effect of damage to the environment. The problem of mental pollution is almost just as bad. For consumerism to work, people need the opportunity to purchase, and they don't tend to make a purchase unless they know something about what they are buying. This is where advertising and conditioning come in. As consumers we are constantly bombarded with information and commands, "Buy this!" "I'm better!" and it goes on and on, until we can't fit it all in our heads and we can't think clearly anymore.

Second, the robberies of our intelligence and personalities. Constant consuming of the latest fashion trends, watching movies, watching TV, we all get this sense that we should be normal. Well what is normal? The TV will tell you. It's made by people, and you're people too, right? We spend so much time enjoying 'entertainment' that we see life as it is in entertainment. We see pop stars as role models. Which is perfect, of course, for business. But in all this, where are we?

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