How does consumerism affect our lives?
Encyclopedia Britannica Editor
In industrialized societies, one could easily argue that consumption is the basis for most (if not all) activity. Modern life involves trading ones labor for currency, which can be used to purchase (and thus consume) goods and services, such as food, housing, energy, and entertainment (as well as the various things [fuel, materials, etc.] used to support these endeavors).
Because humanity lives within a finite context, that is, Earth, we need to be aware of the limits to consumption. Modern consumerism relies on continual growth and expansion. Within the finite Earth system, as increasing numbers of people desire the benefits increasing amounts of resources, the act of consumption brings about resource depletion and environmental degradation, consumer debt, competitive or conspicuous consumption, unequal distribution of wealth, and global poverty.
There are, however, other ways to live modern life. For example, ethical consumerism is form of political activism based on the premise that purchasers in markets consume not only goods but also, implicitly, the process used to produce them. From this point of view, consumption is a political act that sanctions the values embodied in a product’s manufacture. By purchasing certain goods and services instead of others, the consumer can (ideally) steer away from those items that contribute to social and environmental problems. Similarly, the anticonsumerism movement rails against excessive purchasing and consumption of material possessions. One of anticonsumerism's primary concerns is the purchase of consumer goods on the basis of novelty or because of artificially manufactured perceived needs.