The Nature of Consumerism
Provide a 8 pages analysis while answering the following question: The Nature of Consumerism. Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide. An abstract is required. Consumerism can be viewed as both a social and economic ideology that encourages people to acquire goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. The term consumerism has been applied to refer to something quite different called consumerists’ movements, consumer protection is otherwise known as consumer activism. The ultimate goal of consumer protection is to inform and protect consumers by insisting on activities such as honest advertising or packaging, product guarantees, and sometimes for improved safety and safety measures in workplaces. In this sense, consumerism can be viewed as a political movement or a functional set of policies seeking to govern the regulation of products and services all in the interest of the final consumer (Goodwin 2008).Economically, consumerism describes the economic policies while placing an obvious emphasis on the consumption patterns. It emphasis the consideration that indeed, the free choice of consumers should strongly determine or favour what is ultimately produced, how it is produced and as a result orient the economic organization of a given society. To say that people possess consumerist values or attitudes, therefore, can be construed to mean that they always want to consume more as they find meaning and satisfaction in life. This is based on the purchase of more and new consumer goods. According to Assadourian (2004), consumerism has thus emerged as a part of the historical process. One that has been to catalyze the creation of mass markets, cultural attitudes, and industrialization that see the rising incomes from the workforce. It is channelled to purchasing the ever-growing output.The birth of consumerism can be attributed to many different sources. Some economists attribute Adam Smith as the father of consumer ethic when he stated that “consumption is the sole end and purpose of all production” (Wealth of Nations as quoted in Hilton 2001, p. 9). .
