Consumer Society

A consumer society is a society that derives a lot of satisfaction through the purchase of new consumer goods. This society is therefore likely to value all aspects that increase their income levels than those that increase their freedom. The consumer society dates back to the early 1920s. It is partly to blame for mass production, mass consumption and the current labor system (Firth 21).

Labor

In the early years of industrialization, employees were employed for a fixed amount of work after which they would rest for the rest of the week. This step had been taken to push workers to be more productive so that they would reach the level of productivity that gave them their leisure time. It worked in those days. The reason for this was that people then valued leisure time to income. This method did not help to increase the productivity of companies significantly. Instead, it prompted the employers to look for other more productive methods.

The methods that were identified then required employers to either use control or paying lower wages to those who worked fewer hours. To make this possible, employers started employing children, women and teenagers since they were easier to control and could be paid lower wages. The emergence of such methods made life worse for factory workers than it was in the earlier days.

To counter this effect, factory workers created and joined trade unions which agitated their employers for better wages, working conditions and working hours. The rising productivity and increase in profits enabled the employers to yield to the pressure. However, with time employers started seeing themselves as consumers. They therefore stopped campaigning for lesser working hours but instead sought better wages and a compensation for the extra hours worked.

While the repressive approach was not completely replaced by the new consumerist attitude along with mass consumption has grown especially attractive to the economic system. While the traditional approach helped in the production of goods to feed the foreign market, the consumerist approach must strive to ensure that employees work for enough money to make an impact in the consumption as the local market.

Institutions of the Consumer Society

Various institutions were created to enable the consumer society to be more effective in the long run. These institutions provided the consumers with funds and an urge to satisfy their quest for newer and better products. The two major institutions of the consumer society are the advertising agencies and consumer credit societies.

Advertising

While advertising has only been in existence for the past one century, it has become a necessity in the distribution process. According to Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman and Weisskopf (7), advertising in the US has come to rival religion and education in determining public aspirations and values. This has created a situation where advertising accounts for more spending than the government’s spending on police protection, higher education and natural spending.

While advertising is often only justified as provision of information to consumers, it often plays a bigger role. It also plays the role of influencing the choices that people make by playing on their emotions, values, desires and fantasies. While each advertisement carries with it a different message, they all have one common characteristic. They all create the impression that buying is in itself a delightful activity.

The presentation of consumption as a delightful activity resolved one problem. After the Great Depression of 1930s, it became evident that there was a possibility of a situation arising I which every consumer had enough of everything they needed. If such a situation arose, then the producers would be required to close down. Advertisement however got rid of such a situation by creating a scenario where methods would be employed to impress on consumers to keep buying more without regard for the sufficient amount.

A good example of companies that have sufficiently used this method rake is billions is Apple Inc. The company releases products periodically to ensure that customers are always waiting for the next released product. To make the next product better than the last, the company ensures that every release is an improvement of the last. The former product is also downgraded and its price lowered. While the improvement is hardly significant, the company rakes in huge profits as consumers rush to replace their older models. It is important to note here that the products at this point are still usable. The advertisement however creates the impression that purchasing the next model is a way of life. With this in mind, it could be argued that the need to satisfy the desires of consumers is no longer relevant.

Consumer Credit Agencies

Consumer credit agencies were initially reserved for those who needed to satisfy basic needs and necessities. A request for funding towards more luxurious ventures was frowned upon. With the growth of mass production and consumerism, came the need to satisfy a need for funding towards such ventures. Consumer credit is especially useful for funding luxuries that require a lot of funds like vehicles, and properties.  According to Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman and Weisskopf (9), by the end of 2007, consumer credit topped $2.5 trillion in the US. This has also necessitated the creation of methods for making funds available to consumers easily by the use of credit cards and mobile applications.

The Future of Consumer Society

Recently, there has been a mass exodus by consumers from manufacturers who use unsustainable methods of production to those who exploit more sustainable methods (Firth 7). This has seen people depart from more traditional ways of reading news, for example, and adopted more technological methods. These methods include the use of the internet and social media and doing away with having to buy newspapers that will only be relevant for a day.

Another thing that has happened in this regard is that people have learned to choose only those companies that have a mechanism of corporate social responsibility. Although this has not been completely embraced, the world seems to be changing towards that direction. It is to be expected that in future, companies will be required to implement responsible production methods to remain valid before their consumers.

In conclusion, the consumer society was created when employees prioritized the ability to spend to leisure time. Then, employees sought to be fairly compensated for the time they spent working. This way, employers learned that they could benefit more by paying their employees more and then making them a part of their market. Advertising and consumer credit have made it even easier for the consumer society to exist. The future of consumer society is likely to pressure producers to produce more sustainable products in the future.

Works Cited

Firth, Lisa. A Consumer Society. 1st ed. Cambridge: Independence, 2011. Print.

Goodwin, Neva et al. Consumption And The Consumer Society. 1st ed. Sharpe, 2008. Print.