Shadows Of Consumerism

If you live in the "developed" world, there's no escaping the ubiquitous presence of consumerism; wherever you turn there's some brand making its presence known, and this has only become worse with the internet. Today we'll dive in a bit deeper into what it really means to live in a society where citizens are downgraded to mere consumers.

An economy that's founded on eternal growth and ever increasing profits can not survive on producing and selling the things we need. It has to create new needs all the time. One of advertisement's biggest secrets is that it is specifically shaped to make you unhappy. Unhappy with what you have now, making you want newer and more stuff. And the products can not last, as that would slow down the eternal cycle of production and consumption. So we're surrounded by the monstrous apparatus of forever sales, constantly shouting in our faces to buy and consume more.

We're not really buying products. We're buying an idea, or social status; we're literally being sold happiness. And to sell happiness advertisers show us extremely happy people, making us feel relatively unhappy in comparison. A shoe-salesman once said: "Don't sell shoes, sell lovely feet instead." Teenagers steal each other's Nike shoes to become a member of of the Nike owners' group; they're not stealing shoes, they're stealing status. And to sell status, advertisers show us celebrities consuming, using, driving or wearing their products. With a smile of course.

English pottery maker Josiah Wedgwood founded his fine china, porcelain and luxury accessories company in 1759, and was ahead of his time when it comes to using all the sales-tactics we're now subjected to all day every day. Most importantly though, he was the first to launch a true luxury product for the masses by becoming "Her Majesty’s Potter" for England's Queen Charlotte.

... the Queen was so impressed with Josiah’s cream-colored wares that she decreed him “Her Majesty’s Potter.”

Recognizing new marketing value, Josiah placed ads in local papers advertising his pottery as “Queensware.” Suddenly, aspirational Britons were clamoring for his work.
_{source: The Hustle - The forgotten father of modern marketing}

Scholars regard Josiah Wedgwood as both the father of modern marketing and the creator of the first luxury brand. Who wouldn't want to own the same pottery as the Queen? This strategy is still used today: show a member of the upper class wearing or using your product, and the masses will feel like they're buying some of that status. And when everyone owns that status-symbol, the cycle starts anew, designing and producing new products to be introduced to that upper class first; they can't be wearing and using the same stuff as the commoners, now can they?

The practice of constantly displaying their products had humble beginnings; they used large glass windows in their shops, displaying their products to everyone passing by. Window-shopping is still a thing. But now... TV, radio, billboards and the internet cast a shadow of consumerism that's ubiquitous and permanent. "Consumer power," "vote with your wallet" and "ethical consumption" are mere slogans to make consumers feel like they're still responsible citizens when in reality consumers have no power, can't vote with their wallet (it's too small to make a difference) and it's impossible to consume responsibly or ethically when the producers lack both traits. It's irrational to believe that producers will sacrifice profits for responsible or ethical production.

I've only covered the tip of the proverbial iceberg, and you'll know where this is heading if I go on. So instead I invite you to watch the below linked video which covers the entire ugly iceberg, but also offers some push-back against my negative view on all of this. It explores the possibility of ethical consumption and also discusses some upsides to the consumerist behaviors of modern homo economicus.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog and reading my posts dear reader, I appreciate that a lot :-) If you like my content, please consider leaving a comment, upvote or resteem. I'll be back here tomorrow and sincerely hope you'll join me. Until then, stay safe, stay healthy!