Consumerism damages society and the environment through the constant promotion to purchase and the depletion of resources as a result of the endless consumption. Capitalism fosters consumerism which pushes people to purchase in order to gain status and validation, but impacts the environment and people negatively. The capitalist system has been employed for centuries but consumerism is at a level that is unsustainable for people and the planet.
Our worth does not come from what you purchase, or how much you purchase. We are taught that it is. We praise people for their consumerism without a thought. Why do we put such a focus on money over being a good person? Why don’t we praise kindness and compassion like we do a new electronic device?
People spend thousands on items they don’t need in order to be perceived a certain way. Our society supports this consumerism push to buy in order to be important/liked but the validation is a facade. Capitalism has been working hard to promote consumerism for hundreds of years and it is engrained in many of our actions. It’s a hard system to break because it is promoted in every aspect of our lives.
The car you drive, the vacation you go on, the clothes you buy, they don’t matter. We have to break the mindset it is about the things. What matters in the end is who you really are behind the facade of what was purchased.
What happens is that this is teaching society to seek validation through consumerism. We are given a status based on what we have purchased. Should status be given for our ability to purchase and what we have consumed? What does status matter if it means that people suffer as a result of that status?
It is environmentally wasteful and not economically sound for any person beyond the elitist class to sustain a lifestyle based on materialistic consumption. However, consumerism is pushed on everyone as an achievement and one everyone should achieve.
Consumerism is destroying the planet. We have to acknowledge that our resources are finite and we need to act now to protect them. It requires precious resources to make our products and goods. Besides diminishing resources, the planet cannot absorb the waste of all that comes with these goods and products and the process to manufacture them. This man-made requirement to consume is having a horrible toll on the environment.
We don’t need more things. We need less. We all need to learn to be resourceful and not wasteful. This priority to purchase is not healthy for mental health, financial health, or the environmental health.
Wars are being waged over land and resources right now and genocides are being committed as a means to control those resources, land, and people. More wars will be waged over resources and land, and even more people will suffer and die. Is the death of an innocent person and the depletion of their environment acceptable so that a purchase can be made?
Please stop buying. Buy when it’s a need.
When you support sustainability, you support human rights.
Please don’t buy electronics this Christmas to support the Congolese.
Please support the boycotts to support Palestinians.
Please ask officials to sanction the UAE and Chad to stop arms to the RSF.
If you have money to burn, please donate to environmental or humanitarian organization.
Please praise and acknowledge the people in your life with good hearts. Let them hear your love and appreciation. Let’s empower love and kindness.