Planet Consumption, or Why consumer society is an extremely useful thing. The era of consumption

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We - consumer society. And this is quite sad... Today I want to bring to your attention some of my thoughts on this matter, and also consider the main character traits consumer societies in which you can easily recognize the surrounding reality. I would really like you to think about this and perhaps change your attitude towards some things that have long turned into habits, bad habits.

What is a consumer society?

In the classical sense, a consumer society is a society in which the leading role is occupied by people’s consumption of material goods and services. In other words, people in a consumer society live in order to consume, to consume as much as possible, because this is a very significant value. Some people form opinions about others based on how much they consume. Those who consume more occupy a higher position in society, those who consume less occupy a lower position.

The classic consumer society has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include the following:

Incentive and motivation for the development of both producers and consumers;
Everything is developing at a very fast pace;
People want to work and earn money;
People quickly spend what they earn - money is always on the move, in circulation;
Relative social stability in society;
Low social tension - everyone is thinking about how to earn and spend money.

Now let's look at the main disadvantages of a consumer society:

People in a consumer society become very dependent and dependent;
In the pursuit of consumption, people forget about more important human values;
Due to high production rates, natural resources are quickly depleted, very often they are not restored;
All processes occur very quickly, including destructive ones;
People do not have a developed sense of responsibility, the responsibility of an individual to society is very small;
Most people are illiterate and underdeveloped, they do not know how to think, they are easy to control and manipulate their minds;
People are incapable of making decisions; they are accustomed to others deciding everything for them.

Most famous description consumer society is contained in the book “Consumer Society” by Jean Baudrillard, a French sociologist, cultural scientist and philosopher, published in 1970. The book was published in Russian translation only in 2006.

Characteristic features of a consumer society.

Now let's outline the main features that can characterize a consumer society:

Growing needs of people and expenses for personal needs;
Reducing the role of small stores in favor of large ones shopping centers and supermarkets;
Widespread development of lending for consumer needs:, etc.;
Widespread development of all kinds discount cards, discount systems and other products that stimulate consumption;
Products become “morally obsolete” faster than they physically wear out or fail;
Advertising actively imposes a “culture of consumption”: it is not the goods and services themselves that are advertised, but tastes, values, desires, norms of behavior, interests that involve the purchase of these goods and services;
The concept of a “brand” is being actively promoted, as something for which one must “pay”;
All important areas of human development are placed on a commercial basis: training (training centers, paid courses, trainings), sports, health (fitness centers, GYM's, sports clubs), even beauty and appearance(paid body care, anti-aging procedures, plastic surgery) – all this is actively advertised and stimulated.

Do you notice the surrounding reality in this? This suggests that our consumer society is actively developing.

Consumer society and our reality.

But the consumer society that you can all observe around you, and to which, with a high degree of probability, you can be counted directly, has gone quite far from its classical example, and for the worse. It practically does not use the classical advantages of the consumer society, but it has absorbed all the disadvantages in multiple quantities.

For the most part, our people absolutely do not want and do not know how to take responsibility for their lives and are accustomed to placing it on someone else: as a rule, on the state, or even personally on the president.

Look at what concepts politicians going to elections most often focus on to raise their ratings: salaries, pensions, jobs - perhaps these are the TOP 3. Why exactly these concepts? Because what people want to hear most of all is the consumer society. Because people want some “good uncle” who came to power to give them everything: salaries, pensions and jobs. The bigger, the better. Because all this will make it possible to consume more.

And also because people themselves cannot and do not want to take care of their own jobs, their earnings and provision for old age. Few people think about having, or creating for themselves. People prefer to be dependent on someone who will do it for them: on the state, on the employer. Even though it is much less profitable in financially. Because it’s easier this way: you don’t need to think hard, you don’t need to take risks, you don’t need to make decisions, you don’t need to take responsibility. Typical consumer society.

And while all this is missing (desired jobs, high salaries and pensions), you can scold the government, organize a protest, or simply complain about life.

The situation is very interesting in modern Russia: when some local problems arise, for example, in a separate locality or in a separate enterprise, which is what people often do? They write a collective letter to the president: only he will solve all their problems! One single person whom the whole country looks to with hope! Consumer society…

But the most depressing thing is that the values of a consumer society are in no way combined with the real capabilities of our people and our economy. And, what is very important, with the level.

In developed countries, a consumer society also exists and is developing, but there it does not have such a negative effect on each individual person as it does in our country.

Judge for yourself: in Russia and Ukraine from 2000 to 2012, consumption growth was observed almost every year, its rate reached 10-15% per year, while the growth of consumption often significantly exceeded the growth of production and the growth of real incomes of citizens. Moreover, even in the crisis years of 2008-2009, there was also an increase in consumption, it was just that its pace decreased. It stopped and began to decline only in 2014-2015, when it had already reached very serious proportions.

What does the excess of consumption rates indicate? GDP growth? The fact that the consumer society has such a strong influence that people bought even more than the country produced, that is, they bought imported products, stimulating the development of the economies of foreign countries.

And this situation has a very Negative influence on the country's own economy. It stimulates an unreasonable rise in prices, and as a result leads to the fact that locally produced goods cannot compete with imported ones.

What does the excess of consumption rates over income growth rates indicate? The fact that a significant part of goods and services was consumed on credit. People in a consumer society agree, as long as they comply with the principles of this society.

In our conditions, for such an opportunity, people throughout for long years given to banks and others credit institutions tens and even hundreds (!) of percent per annum, which was absolutely incompatible with the growth of their income and the ability to painlessly repay the loans received. As a result, a huge number of people are now in debt, many times exceeding their ability to repay; for many, these are 5-10 credits and loans from different organizations. That is, people borrowed until the last minute, while they still had money. This is due to stereotypes imposed by consumer society, and, of course, low level financial literacy and literacy in general (remember that people living in a consumer society are not used to thinking).

The consumer society, combined with our lending conditions, is one of the key reasons for falling into a financial hole. huge amount of people.

Our people absolutely do not know how to live within their means, they want not only to consume a lot, but even to consume what they have not yet earned! After all, this is required by the standards of consumer society.

Let's take a hackneyed example: well, why does our person need to buy an iPhone? latest model, which costs, say, 3 of his salaries? Buy on credit, overpaying about half the cost. And a year later, buy again on credit new model, because it is already outdated (we recall the sign of rapid “moral obsolescence” in a consumer society).

Why buy a branded item if the item is unknown? trademark In no way inferior in quality, but, say, 2 times cheaper? (remember the importance of the brand concept).

Why go to the road to play sports? sport Club instead of free charging at the local stadium, which may be just as good and even more useful?

Consider how people most often justify their excessive consumption:

You only live once!

I can afford it!

Am I worse than others?

But these are by no means a person’s own thoughts - these are stereotypes imposed on him by consumer society. This is what a consumer who is easily influenced will say. And he will be sure that as a result he ended up in a financial hole not through his own fault, but, for example, through the fault of his employer (he fired him and stopped paying his salary) or through the fault of the state (it did not create a new one for him). workplace) or due to the fault of the bank (he, the bloodsucker, takes away the latter). That is, everyone around him is to blame, but not himself - a typical situation for a consumer society.

Why did I devote a separate article to this topic and make it so emotional?

I want everyone to realize that they he can make his own choice. Either live by the laws of the consumer society that were imposed on him, and have rather bleak prospects, or live by his own rules, which may run counter to public opinion, but will be more effective and useful for him specifically. Personally, I chose the second option for myself a long time ago, which is what I wish for everyone. But, of course, the choice is yours, and you are responsible for it. Yes, yes, this happens when a person can choose and take responsibility for his choice.

Thank you for your continued attention. I am always glad to hear any of your opinions in the comments or on the forum. See you again at ! Learn to use personal finances competently and effectively.

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Comments on this post: 20

I was really looking forward to this article, you are reading my thoughts. Sometimes it feels like consumption is eating away at the brain. By the way, the question is off topic: “How to choose hosting?”

Thank you, Garry, the more of us there are, the better 😉

Also, do you think buying a phone for $50 is acceptable if a person’s income does not exceed $3,000 a year? I'd just like to hear your opinion.

I think it is acceptable, but not necessary.
For example, until the beginning of 2014 I had a very simple phone, which at that time probably cost $30 new. Even earlier, there was an official device that was given to me at work - even simpler. Well, it was already falling apart for me (he was about 5 years old, he had been in various “scrapes”)), and I exchanged it for a smartphone for about 200 dollars. First of all, to be able to log in to the E-num service, read QR codes and always have the Internet at hand - this was necessary for work. Back then my internet there was completely free. But now I don’t even use the Internet on it for money, except for Wi-Fi sometimes).
So, there are only 3 phones since 2004, one of them is a service phone, free)
PS: my wife has had one phone since 2006, at that time it was modern, now it’s very outdated, but it’s enough).
Here's a telephone story :)

Konstantin, we are all members of the consumer society, whether we want it or not. We are consumers, and we ourselves can choose to what extent we want to consume. A person who thinks and knows how to separate what he needs, who cannot be manipulated, will win and move on to the next stage of development. We know how to separate our own interests from those of another person. The same can be done in relation to society, it seems to me.

Great article! Everything is to the point. The only thing I disagree with the author is the opinion: “why buy a car if you don’t have an apartment.” I believe that investing in real estate for investment purposes is a very unprofitable business. Even if you simply put an amount equivalent to the cost of the apartment on deposit (even in foreign currency), then the monthly interest income will be the necessary amount to rent an excellent apartment and will even last for a living. Not to mention if you invest money in a business where the income is far from 10-15% per annum :) But our people have a lot of stereotypes about this, that it’s “reliability, stability, you need your own mink, etc.” But this is my opinion)

Yuri, thanks for your opinion. I meant buying real estate for your own residence, if there is none. In my opinion, in most cases, owning your own property is more profitable and more interesting than renting it. Real estate is among the most important personal assets a person or family needs to live. But, of course, for some this may not be the case.

I also completely agree that if you first invest money in a business, you can quickly save up for this very real estate. But what about buying a car for personal use? more important than purchase housing for personal needs - I don’t agree). Again, to each his own).

Hello. Almost the same telephone history as Kostya :):). Fourth since 2000. I think it's for training own strength It would be useful for people to forget their phone at home once a week. The thoughts in my head become brighter. And consumption became the norm, because the people were hungry and ignorant of Soviet times, but now, with the best intentions, he pushes his children into this slavery, they say, we didn’t have it, let them at least have it. Something else is unpleasant. The local rulers of the planet benefit from such a rich country in the role of a “third world country”. That is, a kind of slave, otherwise, God forbid, he gets up from his knees, what to do with him then. Please note that there is nothing left except the Kalash and the remnants of the luxury of space research. One trade, and that’s what their top managers teach us at trainings. It's scary that small businesses are being destroyed or crushed retail chains, dictating the conditions of production. Although, at this difficult moment for the country, read people, IMHO, handicrafts can save us. Small manufacturing business - even bees, even cucumbers, even clay pots. It's time to pull yourself together and start doing at least something. Import substitution. Let the government take credit for these achievements. No pity.

“And this situation has a very negative impact on the country’s own economy. It stimulates an unreasonable rise in prices, and as a result leads to the fact that locally produced goods cannot withstand competition with imported ones.” Why does rising prices reduce the competitiveness of domestic goods and not reduce the competitiveness of foreign ones?

After all, foreign production often moves closer to the consumer, that is, to Russia. Therefore, the economy should put pressure on them in the same way as on our producer.

Because it becomes less profitable to produce domestic goods. The cost of their production becomes higher than production imported goods with lower product quality. By the way, it is in Russia that this phenomenon is observed very clearly in many areas.

Thank you Ivan. I agree, everything is so.. I also wrote a lot about this).

The article is correct, but I would like to express a couple of my thoughts on this matter.
Firstly, as Konstantin noted, we are a consumer society, we live in this society, and this means that we are obliged to take into account the rules of the consumer society (we are obliged to take into account, but are not obliged to follow them).
Let me give you an example: a person decided to get a job as general director, came to an interview in an old, worn-out suit (a financially literate person decided that he did not need a new stylish suit because he was above this endless consumption), and as a result he was refused, because... “they greet you by their clothes.” In our consumer society, it is important not only what is behind one’s back, but also what is on display, in other words, the image (not just show-off, but an image that serves to achieve certain goals). A scene from the film “Duel of Brothers” comes to mind. The story of Adidas and Puma”, where one of the brothers took out a loan for a car in order to seem successful and was loaned from the bank. Of course, this can be considered as an investment in business, but still it can be closely intertwined in our lives.

Secondly, regarding brands. In some cases, buying a brand really means overpaying money for unnecessary show-off. But often the brand acts as a guarantor that the item will be of high quality (whatever one may say, brands are mainly large corporations that have technical advantages before small companies), also by choosing a branded item, the time spent searching for a non-branded item is significantly saved good quality, that is, it saves time, which is important. And, of course, the brand can increase social status and serve as the basis for creating an image (why this should be already described in the first paragraph).

Thirdly, you don’t need to have a negative attitude towards this phenomenon, but you need to learn to benefit from it. People in general cannot be changed, and you, knowing the principles of consumer society, can make good money from this. Warren Buffett, for example, is a very cunning bug in this regard - he only benefits, but does not spend much, denies the rules of endless consumption, but what if everyone is as frugal as our famous investor? Most likely there will be problems in the economy. But who said that saving so much is good? I think this is a reverse reaction to the principles of consumer society, that consuming a lot is bad, and consuming little is good, but, in my opinion, this is just the other extreme, and this is not good.

In conclusion, I want to say that you need to adhere to the rule of the golden mean everywhere, which, as I have noticed, can be applied in almost all areas of life. By applying the rule to the above points, we can draw a simple and important conclusion that you need to live within your means. No extremes. Not on credit, like people in a financial hole, but also not like Warren Buffett riding on old car, having the opportunity to buy a new one. Actually, what’s wrong with the fact that having money (being in a state of financial independence) I will consume more, thereby providing myself with a higher quality of life? Otherwise, why do I need this financial independence?

I would like to hear Konstantin’s opinion on these arguments :)

Daniel, wonderful reasoning, I really like it! Especially to “make the best” of any situation. Thank you for such a thoughtful addition! 🙂

Forgive me. I myself consume expensive brands, but I only bought ours for a long time (and about the TV, I haven’t had one for 7 years, but there is an Internet worse than TV!!! You and I are a society of consumers, whether we like it or not, we have no choice, we eat what is offered to us, we see, even the Internet provider is a consumer society, but they don’t understand and don’t take it seriously, I gave up my mobile phone for more than two months (people no longer understand that you can come and talk in person, which is more important and more effective than on mobile) Everyone is freaking out!!! Here comes the society of consumption, you refused their rules and you are the enemy!!

This is what Pavel Durov wrote about this not so long ago (he posted his entire post in the VK group and on the forum). He wrote about giving up unhealthy foods, but he also wrote about TV. I have a lot of respect for this man, and I think he's worth listening to. Here are his words, quote:

Some young people feel the need to lead healthy image life, but break under the pressure of society. They are told: “It’s customary,” “It’s impossible otherwise,” “This is disrespect.”

I am writing this to show that “this way” is possible. If you feel that this path is the right one, ignore your surroundings.

A society whose traditions are built on self-poisoning has no future. We may well build our lives and our world on other values - the values of creation, self-development and hard work.

This is the highest stage of development of industrial society. At this stage, several specific features are added to the old, already established features of consumption of the industrial era:

The growth of material hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure, leading to deformation of consumer behavior. A large-scale entertainment industry is emerging, which for many consumers is becoming the basis of life behavior and the highest value.

The increasing role of psychological factors and fashion in consumption; exceeding the level of satisfaction of physiological needs, widespread prestigious consumption. After the basic physiological needs of the majority of the population began to be fully satisfied, consumer demand began to depend on a new set of factors - fashion and prestige.

Inclusion of image and consumption stereotype in the requirements of social prestige. Each social stratum develops unspoken traditions of consuming a strictly defined set of goods and services. Belonging to one or another layer dictates to a person a specific standard of consumer behavior. People who violate these standards and traditions face serious problems in everyday communication and in professional activity. This situation improves the conditions for service activities, since the demand for goods and services becomes more stable and predictable.

Pollution of the natural environment and the resulting deterioration of consumption conditions. The rapid development of industry has a negative impact on natural environment, which reduces the quality of many goods and services. The population of developed countries is so concerned about this that, for example, stores selling organic products are becoming popular.

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Consumer society is a widely used metaphor to describe the state of modern society, characterized by industrialization and urbanization, standardization of production, bureaucratization of public life, the spread of " popular culture”, the absolutization of human material needs and giving consumerism the status of the highest social and moral value.

The development of civilization led to a significant increase in scientific and technological achievements, which made it possible to ensure a high level of consumption of material goods. One of the foundations of the ideology of industrial society was the educational idea of progress. It was industrialism that first gave rise to a mode of production with a self-sustaining capacity for growth and expansion.

The idea of progress was refracted into public consciousness bourgeois society in the belief that everything new is obviously better than the old. Progress has reoriented towards shortening the life cycle of manufactured products and accelerating the change of generations. This gave rise to a special phenomenon: supply-side economics and consumer society.

The international division of labor has determined the unfolding process of globalization, spreading universal, “universal” values, unified standards of consumption throughout the world, regardless of religious or national traditions, historical types of civilizations. The imposition of these and other standards, presented as absolute truths, is inevitably accompanied by impoverishment of thinking and the suppression of original, independent opinions. The victory of the civilization of the standard over the culture of the individual led to the elimination of the individual human factor in history.

Thus, the consumer society turns out to be the most totalitarian social construction that has ever existed on Earth, but its totalitarianism is unobtrusive and is disguised as a huge, unprecedented freedom of choice of material goods.

Consumer society is also a new historical type of socialization. The famous historian D. Burstin argued that in the USA in the mid-20th century. adherence to certain consumer standards turned out to be main force, connecting people into communities: “Outdated political and religious communities remained alone among many new associations that were previously difficult to even imagine. Americans, with ever-increasing strength, began to be bound together not by a few strong ties, but by countless invisible ties, from which, like a spider’s web, the threads of their daily lives were woven.”

Consumers who prefer the products of a particular company are united by the consciousness of general well-being, common interests, a general feeling that they are cared for, cared for, an entire society, “placed at the service of the idea of happiness,” is adapting to them. As the French philosopher J. Baudrillard notes, this is how a “new humanism” is formed in a consumer society, asserting the freedom to enjoy life and the right of every consumer to buy what can bring him joy, providing schemes for adaptation to society and recipes for a comfortable life.

Through the sweet celebration of consumer goods, the true imperative of advertising is heard: “Look: a whole society is busy adapting to you and your desires. Therefore, it would be wise for you to integrate into this society.”

The general degradation of the idea of labor, which “marks the retreat into the background of all incentives for work, except money” (M. Lerner), was a clear departure from the spirit of entrepreneurship and the cult of labor, creation as the highest, religiously sanctified, which gave rise to capitalism, according to M. Weber. values.

Acceptance of the value of consumption as the main goal of human existence has become necessary and perhaps the main condition for the existence of modern Western society.

Its power is not ensured military force, Not financial flows, Not natural resources, but the dominance in the mass consciousness of the cult of total consumerism. It is he who, having become an element of consciousness, determines the behavior of individuals and social groups.

The desire for consumption that knows no bounds, which has become the dominant socio-economic and cultural life The West has long been in conflict with the resource capabilities of the Earth. H. Wells once wrote: “It would be ridiculous to prove that the combined world resources and energy of all mankind, especially if they are well organized, are sufficient in excess to satisfy the material needs of every human unit. And if it is possible to arrange so that every person will be content with reasonable physical and mental comfort, without reproducing the type of the lower order, there is no reason why it should not be arranged.”

People's focus on ever-increasing production and consumption has created bills for which there is no one to pay. The finitude of nature and the limited nature of its resources do not provide opportunities for limitless growth of production. Awareness of this fact led Western society not to the idea of creating resource-saving technologies and pacification of its growing needs (the USA, where 5% of the world's population lives, consumes 40% of the world's resources), and to the formation of the concept of the “golden billion”.

In the modern Western “consumer society” there is no degree of reasonable limitation of needs, no mechanism for controlling their growth. Moreover, unrestrained satisfaction of needs, not limited by anything or anyone, in accordance with the norms imposed by society, is presented by the media as a model of normal, natural, the only correct human behavior.

The totalitarian model of a consumer society is unceremoniously imposed on the whole world as a universal one. And this expansion is spreading thanks to the Internet and other modern means mass communication at the speed of a pandemic.

For the first time, the consumer society began to be consciously promoted by American presidents D. Eisenhower, J. Kennedy, L. Johnson. Material security, in their opinion, should have become the main trump card in cold war with the USSR: “Let the Russians launch satellites, let them free blacks from the slavery of colonialism, let them be proud of their achievements in chess and ballet, and we will just... live better and in the end, the masses will follow our ideals.”

It is generally accepted that socialism collapsed in our country in 1991. In fact, this happened much earlier, when N. Khrushchev proclaimed his famous slogan: “Catch up and surpass America in milk and meat.” It was then that the Soviet leadership recognized the values of a consumer society as universal, declaring the country’s main goal to be “satisfying the ever-increasing material needs of Soviet people,” which is supposedly the meaning of building communism as a society “in which everything will be free.” Khrushchev’s replacement of the communist social ideal with the values of a consumer society led to catastrophic consequences for the country in the 1980s and 90s.

In the USA in last years There is a growing movement of anti-consumers who argue: the meaning of human life is not in the consumption of material goods, and therefore the meaning of the life and activities of a nation and state should also not be aimed at economic growth. Instead of the Ministry of Economy, anti-consumers propose creating a Ministry of Spirit and Free Time.

In Russia, the “consumer society” paradigm still remains dominant. In the programs of all parties, raising the standard of living of the people is as follows: the main objective, only the ways to achieve it differ.

Meanwhile, such a goal is not at all obvious. Just as the meaning of an individual’s life is not limited to the consumption of material goods, the meaning of a people’s life may also consist in the implementation of some mission, in a historical accomplishment, for which it is often necessary to give up high level life.

The crisis situation that has developed in Russia is manifested with particular force in the spiritual life of society. The situation in the culture of our fatherland is assessed as extremely difficult and even catastrophic. With the inexhaustible cultural potential accumulated by previous generations and our contemporaries, the spiritual impoverishment of the people began. Mass lack of culture is the cause of many troubles in the economy and environmental management. The decline of morality, bitterness, the growth of crime and violence are evil growths based on lack of spirituality. An uncultured doctor is indifferent to the suffering of the patient, an uncultured person is indifferent to the creative quest of an artist, an uncultured builder builds a beer stall on the site of a temple, an uncultured farmer disfigures the land... Instead of native speech, rich in proverbs and sayings, there is a language clogged with foreign words, thieves' words , and even obscene language. Today, what the intellect, spirit, and talent of the nation has created over centuries is under threat of destruction - ancient cities are being destroyed, books, archives, works of art are being lost. folk traditions skill. The danger to the present and future of the country is the plight of science and education.

universal human value mass consumption

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The mass consumer society of the 50s - 60s, which emerged from the gigantic military and civil upheavals of the beginning of the century and formed fundamentally new nuclear families (as social and consumer units), developed a new idea of the wealth of nations as a sign of sustainable consumer demand , providing dynamic sales markets. Compromise democratic solutions to pressing social and political problems were found. This obi progressed rapidly both economically (thanks to the rapid-fire mass production of previously unknown high-quality goods and services available to the population) and socially, overcoming the previous poverty of its citizens thanks to full-time employment, high wages and the social welfare system.

The mass consumption society of the 50s - 60s, which emerged from the gigantic military and civil upheavals of the beginning of the century and formed. Compromise democratic solutions to pressing social and political problems were found. This industry has also rapidly progressed economically (thanks to the in-line mass production of previously unknown high-quality tonnage products. Many of its achievements are significant.

In addition, the automobile signified the birth of a mass consumer society in America, increased the territorial mobility of Americans, and dramatically expanded the geographic area of their daily activities.

Therefore, if in Russia living wage is determined by the primitive set of calories in food products, then in developed countries - by the minimum of various economic benefits that the stage of mass consumption society can provide (guarantee) to each citizen.

Galbraith), a society of mass consumption, ceasing to be a society of searching for a new quality of life (W.

Toffler, USA), the fabric of nations becomes a developed intellectual (given, ensuring the flow of innovation and efficient production. The patterns of functioning of mass individuality are just as very different from those of a mass consumer society, as the latter was distinguished from: trial.

The more material consumption increases, they argued. economists and sociologists, the less exploitation. Own car or own house acted in the propaganda of the notorious American way of life, a mass consumer society, as symbols of the well-being of workers and employees, who are supposedly completely or almost completely free from exploitation.

New homes filled with new families as the population explosion began. Every family needed large quantities all sorts of new gadgets and - since the suburbs were still without public transport - in a car to go everywhere. The many films of that time, produced by both private and public companies, are fascinating to watch. Both capture and celebrate the newly emerging mass consumer society.

It is enough to recall the key point economic theory Keynes's assertion that high rates of economic development are predetermined by high rates of consumption, or aggregate demand. Stimulating aggregate demand is, in his opinion, one of the main priorities of the state’s economic policy. But this is also the task of manufacturers, because the pace of development of the enterprise and, accordingly, the profit received directly depend on the demand for its products. And therefore, the task of producers becomes not so much to satisfy existing demand as to create it by various forms pressure on consumers. He draws attention to the fact that it is industrial propaganda that develops in a person the attitude of having (or acquiring), and not of being. It is no coincidence that Veblen's work Theory leisure class was written in the last decade of the 19th century. The so-called mass consumer society is beginning to form in the United States.

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a society of industrialized countries, characterized by mass consumption of material goods and the formation of an appropriate system of value orientations and attitudes. The consumer society is one of the options (along with such options as the welfare state, mixed economy, post-industrial society) of the final state of the so-called. transformation of capitalism, i.e. the theory of the evolution of capitalism into non-capitalist societies.

Consumer society is the state of most developed countries of the world, primarily Western countries. Such societies are characterized by the fact that the idea of unbridled consumption of everything possible is hammered into the brain of every individual in such a society, and in connection with this, the cult of private property as the highest manifestation of consumption. At the same time, consumption itself is elevated to a principle - sometimes even if old thing is still usable, it is still changed due to loss of fashionability, attractiveness, etc. In this regard, the packaging of goods and their advertising become very important - their cost sometimes exceeds the cost of production of the goods themselves. Therefore, the term “packaging company” is sometimes used as a synonym.

It is quite clear that ensuring such a state of affairs is impossible in the case of conducting an economic economy in its original sense, namely in housekeeping in order to maintain a balance, which consists in the principle of “consuming exactly as much as is required.” Consumer society - direct descendant market economy, i.e. chrematistics - the doctrine of obtaining benefits for the sake of benefit itself. Western countries, like fragments of former empires, have sucked and are still sucking resources to maintain their level of consumption from other countries of the world.

It is very strange to see that the same cult of consumption is being imposed in Russia, and in a rather wild version. The largest centers are Moscow and to a lesser extent St. Petersburg is turning into black holes of consumption that are sucking resources from the rest of Russia. It can be assumed that this state of affairs is created deliberately as part of the creation of the notorious system of checks and balances, when people united by one ethnicity must be divided into certain classes that will not allow people to unite in the fight against the supranational scoundrels who have usurped power. This is a continuation of the policy of “divide and rule” in relation to citizens of their own state.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

CONSUMER SOCIETY

a widespread metaphor to describe the state of modern society, characterized by industrialization and urbanization, standardization of production, bureaucratization of public life, the spread of “mass culture,” the absolutization of human material needs and giving consumerism the status of the highest social and moral value.

The idea of progress was refracted in the social consciousness of bourgeois society into the conviction that everything new is obviously better than the old. Progress has reoriented towards shortening the life cycle of manufactured products and accelerating the change of generations. This gave rise to a special phenomenon: supply-side economics and consumer society.

The consumer society is also a new historical type of socialization. The famous historian D. Burstin argued that in the USA in the mid-20th century. adherence to one or another consumer standards turned out to be the main force that binds people into communities: “Outdated political and religious communities remained alone among many new associations that were previously difficult to even imagine. Americans, with ever-increasing strength, began to be bound together not by a few strong ties, but by countless invisible ties, from which, like a spider’s web, the threads of their daily lives were woven.”

Consumers who prefer the products of a particular company are united by the consciousness of common well-being, common interests, a common feeling that they are cared for, looked after, and adapted to by an entire society “put in the service of the idea of happiness.” As the French philosopher J. Baudrillard notes, this is how a “new humanism” is formed in a consumer society, asserting the freedom to enjoy life and the right of every consumer to buy what can bring him joy, providing schemes for adaptation to society and recipes for a comfortable life.

Acceptance of the value of consumption as the main goal of human existence has become necessary and perhaps the main condition for the existence of modern Western society.

Its power is ensured not by military force, not by financial flows, not by natural resources, but by the dominance of the cult of total consumerism in the mass consciousness. It is he who, having become an element of consciousness, determines the behavior of individuals and social groups.

The limitless desire for consumption, which has become the dominant feature of the socio-economic and cultural life of the West, has long been in conflict with the resource capabilities of the Earth. H. Wells once wrote: “It would be ridiculous to prove that the combined world resources and energy of all mankind, especially if they are well organized, are sufficient in excess to satisfy the material needs of every human unit. And if it is possible to arrange so that every person will be content with reasonable physical and mental comfort, without reproducing the type of the lower order, there is no reason why it should not be arranged.”

People's focus on ever-increasing production and consumption has created bills for which there is no one to pay. The finitude of nature and the limited nature of its resources do not provide opportunities for limitless growth of production. Awareness of this fact led Western society not to the idea of creating resource-saving technologies and pacifying its growing needs (the USA, where 5% of the world's population lives, consumes 40% of the world's resources), but to the formation of the concept of the “golden billion”.

For the first time, the consumer society began to be consciously promoted by American presidents D. Eisenhower, J. Kennedy, L. Johnson. Material security, in their opinion, should have become the main trump card in the Cold War with the USSR: “Let the Russians launch satellites, let them free blacks from the slavery of colonialism, let them be proud of their achievements in chess and ballet, and we will just... live better in the end In the end, the masses will follow our ideals.”

In the United States in recent years, a movement of anti-consumers has been growing, who argue: the meaning of human life is not in the consumption of material goods, and therefore the meaning of the life and activities of the nation and state should also not be aimed at economic growth. Instead of the Ministry of Economy, anti-consumers propose creating a Ministry of Spirit and Free Time.

In Russia, the “consumer society” paradigm still remains dominant. In the programs of all parties, raising the standard of living of the people is the main goal; only the methods of achieving it differ.

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