Surviving the Global Economy by Disavowing our Throwaway Society

“It is the logic of consumerism that undermines the values of loyalty and permanence and promotes a different set of values that is destructive of family life.” -  Christopher Lasch

Consumerism is firmly entrenched in our post-modern society. Wikipedia defines the trend as a “social and economic order and ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts.”

In other words, our society has gravitated to the point where we determine our social status by the physical products that we have and can purchase. For example, it’s not socially acceptable to wear a no-name pair of jeans. To fit in and be accepted by our social set, we need to purchase an up-market, branded pair of jeans that usually cost a lot. In real terms, we are only paying for the name; it’s more than likely the same pair of jeans as the no-name pair (or very similar at any rate).

The cost of social status

Brand marketing plays a significant role in our consumerist society. Brand strategists plan and execute marketing strategies with the sole aim of making a brand’s target audience believe that the latest products are necessary. Marketers have realised that very wealthy consumers are the most winning marketing goals. Ergo, the advertising campaign is built around the rich’s tastes, preferences and lifestyle to ensure that the average consumer aspires to be like the rich.  Furthermore, the customer is led to believe that the purchase of an expensive item will improve social status.

Most people have a limit to how much personal debt they can acquire; however, the 2008 global debt crisis showed that these limits are unsustainable. The International Monetary Fund reported in 2012 that household debt climbed radically in the years leading up to the 2007-2012 global financial crisis. Additionally, households in both advanced and emerging economies were subject to this trend. Thus, resulting in a severe global economic crisis. For all practical purposes, most of the world’s countries are no longer in a financial crisis.

However, there is the continued fear that we will sink back into another global financial crisis. The cost of living is on the increase while wages and salaries remain the same. Therefore, the question that begs is how are we going to cut our lifestyles to match our budgets.

Preventing household debt from rising

One of the most practical ways to prevent our debt levels from rising is to steer clear of our post-modern consumerist society. In other words, we need to simplify our lives, avoid buying goods so that we look and feel good in both our and our peers’ eyes.

Furthermore, instead of throwing broken household appliances, computers and mobile devices, as well as other miscellaneous items away, we can look at fixing them. The good news is that repair manuals for most items manufactured today can be found online. Not only are we saving money by repairing broken products, but we are also reducing landfill levels; thereby reducing our carbon footprint on the environment.

Final words

The fact of the matter is that the decision to renounce our throwaway society is not easy to reach and implement. However, the benefits are well-worth the effort.