Consumer Society: Dream or Nightmare?

Industrialists, governments, advertisers and PR agencies want us to believe that consumption is the way to attain happiness. We are made into consumers to keep the factories and economic activities flourishing. Chasing status and materialism by consumption. Buying unnecessary goods, getting new models, getting miracle products… the cycle never ends and our greed is never satisfied. And the factories continue to grow.

We never had a consumer lifestyle and consumerism was sold to us by mainly the US, by their government, advertising and PR agencies. Our forefathers were frugal and basic and used old stuff that lasted or were repaired. They did not face overflowing landfills and plastic pollution. And there were less depression, mental health problems or suicides.

But we are sold this idea of consumption and happiness. Yes we may be wealthier, but are we happier and less stressful? Are we facing more health and environmental problems? We may be even facing an existential problem with pandemics, climate crisis, antibiotic crisis and species extinction. Yet many in the powerful circles are persisting on business-as-usual practices. More roads and highways, more tourism products, more reclamation, more mega projects and more production and growth. Should we allow planet earth be brought down by them?