Live Simply

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Summary

What is consumerism? One dictionary definition is: ‘the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also: a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods.’1 Steadily over the past 400 to 600 years, a culture and society has developed that has centred its focus and efforts on trade and consumption. The vast accumulation of wealth from colonised countries contributed to the industrial revolution in England and parts of Europe. The rapidly‐changing landscape of how production and wealth were understood affected society as a whole. And whilst, initially, abundant consumption was the exclusive domain of the wealthy elite, the crisis of overproduction in the 19th century gave rise to the making of mass consumption.

But for mass consumption to succeed, goods needed to be more accessible to the masses; hence, the need for sourcing cheap labour and raw materials to keep production costs to a minimum and still guarantee sizeable profit margins.

It is argued that consumerism is the most successful culture the world has ever known; its success trumpeted through significant technological advances and increasing wealth and power. Yet such success also mirrors negative consequences, as the purported fruits of consumerism have not been evenly shared.