by Daniel Gertis

Created on: October 25, 2009   Last Updated: October 31, 2009

Buying Happiness

Consumerism has, at one point or another, influenced the life of every human being throughout the globe. It has played a significant role in the transformation of society, especially in the American culture.

America and other highly developed countries never would have progressed so far without engaging in consumption, which is a mechanism of survival. In American culture, however, this concept has taken a new dimension all together; consumption has transformed from a simple idea to a complex obsession. Social aspects such as political recognition and national identity now drive consumption. It has become more than just an economic activity.

The anti-consumerist movement, argues that consumerism leads to elitism, but this criticism is biased. The libertarians who advocate consumerism, on the other hand, stand on solid ground because no person has the right to decide for another what products are important or necessary for living and which ones are not.

No one can determine what is fundamentally and universally wasteful or a luxury (Charles Arthur Willard, 24). Therefore, anti-consumerism is a precursor to central planning or to a system known as totalitarianism. The radical campaign against consumerism could cause any country, even America, to return to the sumptuary laws that have existed since ancient Rome and even the Middle Ages, clearly prior to the era of Karl Marx in the nineteenth century (Charles Arthur Willard, 29).

American culture is deeply rooted in the concept of "life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness" (Tomas Jefferson). The founders of the United States indeed pursued intelligence, education, and freedom, which people still enjoy today. Most U.S. citizens acknowledge that they consume voraciously; they also know that their lifestyles are linked to the great environmental harm done to other parts of the world, especially developing countries. America prospers due to the hard work and low wages of underprivileged people, both in and outside America.

Obesity in the United States is increasing due to excessive eating habits; meanwhile, many children die each day because of malnutrition. Nevertheless, individuals continue to purchase items of luxury such as laptops, iPods, and large television screens. How can this consumption culture be justified?

According to Marx and Engels, "Humans begin to distinguish themselves from other living things as soon as they start to produce their means of subsistence" (Charles Arthur Willard, 29).

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