The Consumer Culture

Introduction

The culture of consumerism has established some major implication to society as a whole. It dictates the way business is made. It affects the way products are presented. It is ingrained in the very lives of the common man. Basically, the idea of consumerism or consumer culture is based on the concept of consumption. There have been theories intimating these effects of the consumer culture on the modern society. However, one that stands out is the theory of Marx, which ties the element of consumption to the component of labour. For the purposes of this discussion, the term labour shall be used as a distinctive concept from work. Labour is considered as an element that involves something far from the finished product. Hence, it is considered as an ongoing process. In the same way, consumption is also considered as a continuing process which is fuelled by both necessity and, to some extent, luxury. Marx tied these two concepts/processes together as the main driver of the modern society. The common man labours in order to find means to satisfy his needs for consumption. When such means are exhausted, the common man resorts back to labour hence starting a vicious cycle. In any case, this manifestation of the relationship of labour and the consumer culture is rather bleak. This paper seeks to go on another direction and acquire a more positive perspective on the relationship of the two concepts. This paper argues that the concept of labour translates primarily on the common man’s pursuit of happiness. The consequent parts of the paper involve the arguments relating to such thesis.

 

The common man is trapped in a cycle of labour and consumption

The ends of man in engaging in labour are primarily to pursue happiness. This could either be caused by necessity. These are essentially the premise to the cycle of labour and consumption. Classical theories have maintained that men are slaves of necessity. Basically, this shows how the common individual is obligated to labour because they are subjected to necessity by force. This theoretical claim has practical manifestations. For instance, the case of the Korean society manifested the shift of agricultural workers to industrial workers in the 1960s where the economic status of the country started to rise towards the trend of industrialisation. (Doo-Seung Hong, 2003) The Korean society also showed an increase in the rate of salaried workers in the fray. (Shin Kwang-Yeong 2004) This increase in the said demographic rate is not limited to the exodus from the agricultural sector. This shift towards salaried working statuses is augmented by the similar increase of women workers in the Korean society. (Byung ho 2001)

These social changes in the Korean setting are essentially driven by the cycle of labour and consumption. Workers from the agricultural sector perceived that the increase in their respective incomes shall entail if they give up their fields for production lines. These individuals are subjected to necessity by force hence their current state. This is similarly true in the case of the surge of female workers in Korea. Though it is imperative to note that this part of the population has been empowered immensely in educational ad employment opportunities, the decision to leave the house responsibilities to the extended family members, paid help, and even child care facilities in Korea shows that women in this country have also become trapped in the cycle caused by the existing consumer culture in the said society.

The ends of man is to acquire wealth

The pursuit of happiness of the common man involves the acquisition of wealth. The concept of wealth used in this discussion connotes the financial requisites for the common man to acquire all the good things in life. More particularly, such acquisition of wealth translates to quenching the thirst of society’s consumer culture. (McIntyre 1992, 40) The acquisition of such wealth is not limited to increasing the productivity of work. It also translates to the acquisition of several comparative advantages in the labour market. With the presence of numerous other individuals who seeks to be a productive part of the labour market, merit and fitness reflected in the educational level and even the skills, technical or creative, that the individual possess are vital tools that translate to professional success and social mobility. (Aoki 2001, 931)

This is shown in the Korean setting where the families regard high value on the education of their children. More specifically, such provision of high value intimates the acquisition of a university degree. (Byung ho 2001) Though this does not ensure the success of the individual, it provides the social justice that Marx espouses in his theories which essentially culminates in a sort of utopian dream. (Henry 2002, 595) A clear manifestation of this condition is seen in the propensity of Korean parent to subject their kids to schools with high standards and essentially the employment of tutoring services just to ensure that their same achieve higher education eventually.

 

 

The revolution provided by Marx does not refer to the emancipation of the proletariat

In recent years the culture of consumption has been used to the benefit of private entities and large corporations. (Dolfsma 2004, 351) With the help of the government, these entities are able to spin consumption into an ongoing and never-ending process. This phenomenon presents a reason why people become slaves of labour because of the developments of the modern culture of consumption. Societies today place value on the consumer products as well as with the individuals that contribute to the process of consumption. (Armstrong 1998, 511) This is manifested in the constant need of the person to acquire gadgets and new items of technology that conforms to what is considered chic and trendy. This is also infused in the social elements like fashion. This tendency of the common man to succumb to this element of consumerism is based on the corporations’ use of planned obsolescence and perceived obsolescence. This constant bombardment of suggestive indicators that point to engaging more in consumerism is a clear representation of the proletariat being confined in his condition. In this regard, it appears that they are placed in such a position because they did not have much of a choice. This is the exact situation which prompts the theories of Marx to emancipate the proletariat into a classless society. (McIntyre 1992, 40) The problem in the said theory is that such ends that illustrate a classless society have proven to be impossibly unachievable. However, the emancipation of the common man from labour is still manageable. As applicable to the current state of circumstances, the proletariat is emancipated by means of undermining the culture of consumerism.

 

Man reverts to the use of instruments of work to lessen the burden of the labour/consumption cycle

The instruments of work are elements that assist the common worker to establish higher value on specific commodities. (O’Boyle 1994, 286) Illustrations of these types of instruments are computers, gadgets and other machineries that make the completion of work less heavily laden. However, the culture of consumerism has constantly insinuated that these instruments have a very short life span. This takes place by either the corporations that manufacture these instruments of work have designed these items for a specified life span or by changing the look of the certain item.

To this end, it appears that there is an existing paradox in man’s use of instruments of work. (Dolfsma 2004, 351) Though it adds up to the ability of the individual to deal with the demands of labour, the culture of consumerism constantly barrage these individuals that these instruments will, in a short period of time, be useless. In the same manner, these instruments despite helping the common individual emancipate himself from labour consistently purchases new instruments to similarly increase the possibilities of emancipation from labour. This paradox contributes to the cycle of labour and consumption. As man intends to take initiatives to improve himself and add opportunity to emancipate himself from labour, the culture of consumerism will find ways to limit this potential and consequently maintain a status quo in the continuum. This continues until one of these players ceases to exist.

Nature provides for all the necessary means for man to pursue happiness

The production process is not complete without the stage of extraction of natural resources. In this stage, the pursuit of man’s happiness starts. It is in nature that the primary elements are acquired to generate the items that people consume. (Johnston 2005, 855) For instance, the intricate chips and silicon materials used in computers and other novel gadgets come from minerals from the natural resources. The problem in this regard is that the extraction of such materials tends to manifest an abusive character on the part of manufacturers and large corporations. 

In order for corporations to address the needs of the consuming public, it is inevitable that they acquire items from nature. However, it is imperative to stay within a manageable level of use so as to ensure sustainable development in the said area. This considerable regard on sustainable development implicates the rise of social corporate responsibility of corporations and large companies. With the recent trends towards a “greener” society, this element of the operations of the organisation has been heavily regarded by their respective consumers. (Gilg et al. 2005, 481) The problem here is that abuses in natural resources are still prevalent despite the best effort of governments and the public to police the movement of such corporations. In considering the element of escalation, corporations may well have established ways to maximise their investments in the extraction process short of being abusive without the public knowing of this exploitation.

Man’s pursuit of happiness, in order for it to be achievable, should be infused with capitalism

Man’s pursuit of happiness though consumerism is marred primarily of their compulsion to find labour. As stated by the theories of Marx, labour is fuelled by consumption and such necessities. However, considering the conditions nowadays, the cycle of labour and consumerism have a common denominator, capitalism. (Dolfsma 2004, 351) Without the big corporations, consumer goods will not be present in the market. In the same manner, without these capitalist corporations, the common man will not find any means to sustain his need for consumption as these capitalists provide for their source of living.

Conclusion

Labour is driven by society’s consumer culture. Man is driven to labour by his inherent needs to consume, and in this current state of society, for one to acquire something requires him to carry out or give something in exchange. And for man, in order to pursue what he perceives as happiness, immerses himself to the labour processes. This is the reason Marx pointed out that man is enslaved by the vicious cycle involving labour and consumption. This is explained in the discussions above. The acquisition of wealth as well as the use of instruments of work along with the division of labour translates to this pursuit of the common man. Marx even poetically pointed this out as a revolution. Hence, what has long been established as the primary thrust of the Marxist movement as the pursuit of a classless society through the emancipation of the proletariat, may well be construed as the actual emancipation of the same from labour. In order for man to actually achieve happiness, he must free himself of the clutches of labour or at least find means to lessen the burden of doing labour so as to acquire the means required by the consumer culture. Ironically, as seen in the arguments above, the most effective way of dealing with this vicious cycle is by employing principles of capitalism in the process. The use of machineries and other instruments of work as well as the division of labour tends to require the accumulation of capital so as to acquire greater wealth and thus realising the emancipation of the common man from labour.

 

References

Aoki, M. (2001) “To the Rescue or to the Abyss: Notes on the Marx in Keynes.” Journal of Economic Issues. 35(4), 931.

Armstrong, R. (1998) “Insufficiency and Lack: Between Production and Consumption in a Longhouse Economy 1909-1996.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute. 4(3), 511.

Chung, Byung-Ho. 2001. “Changes in Korean Family Structure and the Conflicts of Ideology and Practice in Early Socialization” Korea Journal 41(4):123-143.

Dolfsma, W. (2004) “Paradoxes of Modernist Consumption-Reading Fashions.” Review of Social Economy. 62(3), 351.

Doo-Seung Hong (2003) “Social Change and Stratification.” Social Indicators Research. 62(63) 39-50.

Gilg, A., Barr, S., Ford, N. (2005) “Green Consumption or Sustainable Lifestyles? Identifying the Sustainable Consumer.” Futures. 37(6), 481.

Henry, J. (2002) “Marx, Veblen and Contemporary Institutional Political Economy: Henry on O’Hara.” Review of Social Economy. 60(4), 595

Johnston, J.S. (2005) “The Rule of Capture and the Economic Dynamics of Natural Resource Use and Survival under Open Access Management Regimes.” Environmental Law. 35(4), 855.

McIntyre, R. (1992) “Consumption in Contemporary Capitalism: Beyond Marx and Veblen.” Review of Social Economy. 50(1), 40.

O’Boyle, E. (1994) “Homo Socio-Economicus: Foundational to Social Economics and the Social Economy.” Review of Social Economy. 52(3), 286.

Shin Kwang-Yeong (2004) “Class and Income Inequality in Korea.” Korea Journal.

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