When discussing the ethics of consumerism, it is important to develop an- in depth understanding of the history of the subject before having the discussion of the moralistic opinions about. The video The Story of Stuff provided the background necessary to understand the reasons why there are so many issues with consumerism. The argument in the video is that the United States has become a consumerist society since the early 1900’s. A consumerist society is defined as one directed largely by the accumulation and consumption of material goods (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). This consumerism was said to have peaked during the 1950’s when it is said that happiness and contentment with life was at its greatest. Today, things have changed significantly. The adoption of modern marketing practices has led to the emergence of consumerist societies in the swelling middle classes (Chan and Cui, 2004). On one hand, this means that more people are earning enough money to spend. However, the increase in the spending power of the middle class had led to greater demand for consumer goods and thus the resources that are used to make them.

The video discussed how much marketing has played a role in the way that people advocate for consumerism. Those who advocate against consumerism stated that social progress and economic development have caused contemporary marketing practice to contribute to a consumerist or materialistic society. The main issue with consumerism seems to be the fact that it is a system that consumes way more than it produces. As the video discussed the process through which consumer goods endure from extraction to production to distribution to consumption to disposal.

The woman in the video pointed out that there are some missing links in the linear map that we are using to understand the process through which we receive our consumer goods. She discusses the fact that this linear system cannot be applied, without fail, to this finite world. Overall, it seems that the video blames the actions of government and corporations for helping the planet toward this deafening cycle of consumerism that is plaguing the planet. However, there is also a human responsibility that cannot be denied here. The discussion of the individual’s role in this process must not be left out.

Moving further, there must be some responsibility taken but the individual for their actions in this process. The video states that most of the people who take part in perpetuating this system, as employees in polluting factories, as trash dump workers, are participating because this is the way that they earn a living and survive. However, some say that people also gravitate towards the materialism that consumerism produces. Abela (2006) acknowledges this innate tendency in humans towards materialistic behavior and emphasizes that the rise of consumerism coincided with the rise of modern marketing. This makes the responsibility for consumerism, not just on one party, but on the shoulders of everyone involved in the system. Modern marketing is commonly assumed to be responsible for this consumerist society with its hedonistic lifestyle and for undermining other cultural values. In particular, advertising is often singled out as acclaiming acquisition and celebrating consumption at the expense of other values (e.g., family orientation and so on), and has been labeled the most value-destroying activity of Western civilization (Schudson, 1984). For many critics, the undermining of ethical values of people is the dark side of consumer marketing (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). However, as the video stated, this is a system comprised of many parts that span over many different parts of the world due to the corporate and government effort to externalize costs.

This leads to the next point that movie discussed which was perceived obsolescence and planned obsolescence. These were said to be the way that government and corporations perpetuate the problem of consumerism from their place in the system. Perceived obsolescence has to do with the way that the consumer feels he or she should consume. With all of the marketing and sales activities we find ourselves privy to through television and other media outlets, it’s easy to fall victim to this system. For example, the frequency at which new Ipad’s are released causes people to feel they have to continuously discard and upgrade the product that they purchased. This leads to overwhelming amounts of disposal.

People feel that they have to continuously consume in order to keep up with the rest of society. However, this has caused there to be major amount of pollution and trash. This occurs, with little regard for the resources and labor that have been used to produce this product. On the other hand there is planned obsolescence. Planned obsolescence involves the way that producers make their products. Producers are said to, through this tactic, make products very cheaply so that they will break and people will be moved to purchase a new product. This adds to the level of consumerism in a way that creates so much more pollution and trash to the problem.

Along with how people consume is another problem. People are so pre-occupied with consumption, it is being said that they are losing their work ethic. One major value that some believe has been compromised, due to people identifying themselves with consumption, is the work ethic. Some researchers claim that consumption is superceding the work ethic for many people as a motivator for work and as a primary source of identity (Beder, 2000).

The American dream seems to somehow include the idea of becoming a non-stop consumer. This has caused the meaning and definition of success to somehow be connected to the amount of goods one consumes or produces. People now tend to identify with the lifestyle they can achieve through work rather than the work itself. In fact, one could argue that consumerism has replaced the work ethic altogether (Ho, 2001). Perhaps this is the reason that the American happiness meter has declines so much recently. Deterioration of the work ethic can be disastrous for societies. Societal commitment to hard work itself is often associated with economic development and competitiveness (Kraar, 1991). Most people had to work hard because the alternative was to starve (Barbash, 1983). Advancement in psychological techniques and studies, and the ascent of an affluent society gave rise to a contemporary work ethic.

But is consumerism always bad? And do consumers always consider this to be so? On the one hand, consumerism lets us express our personality, interests, and activities and is a natural characteristic of a free democratic wealthy society (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). Branded products are essential to forging one’s self-identity and to differentiate oneself in the world, and offer the deepest insight into meanings of life (Fournier, 1998). On the other hand, consumerism has contributed to the indebtedness of American society, and ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ has heavily indebted many American families (Himes, 2007). Consumerism has been indicted in causing harm to the physical (e.g., smoking and obesity) and mental (e.g., addiction and violence) well-being of children and youth (Abela, 2006; Kramer, 2006). Thus, different viewpoints about whether consumerism benefits society exist (Himes, 2007; O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). However, those who partake of consumerism to a greater degree will more likely support the view that consumerism benefits society since they are enjoying the aforesaid benefits of consumerism (O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy, 2002). Those who are more critical of consumerism are unlikely to think that it benefits society (Abela, 2006; Kramer, 2006). Higher consumerism is thus hypothesized to lead to a stronger belief that consumerism benefits society. When it comes to discovering ways that the woes of consumerism can be solved it involves introducing a plan that includes renewability and sustainability structures in this system. This means that each member of the cycle is conscious and aware of the consequences of their actions and takes the proper steps to prevent or put and end to detrimental or polluting practices. This is where chemistry moves into the picture. Chemistry is involved throughout the process of production actually. Chemistry involves the interaction of the elements of a given environment. The depletion of the ozone layer is an example of detrimental chemistry happening that causes issues to our health.

Virtuous marketing cannot happen without virtuous consumers. Why aren't we more virtuous in our consumption? How do we accommodate the contradictions betrayed by our behavior with our expressed concerns and perceived ethics? This paper explores the potential role of neutralization techniques in allowing us to short circuit ethical dissonance in our consumption behavior. One particular challenge concerns the discrepancy between values or attitudes and behavior in this domain. Evidence suggests that consumer's ethical concerns do not necessarily become manifest in actual behavior. For example, consumers have been found to buy environmentally hazardous products regardless of their expressions of concern for greener alternatives and to shoplift regardless of their adherence to societal and economic norms of behavior that guide marketplace behaviour. Despite acknowledging that consumers act "methodically" in various circumstances, there have been few efforts to examine the processes through which the potential influence of ethical concerns are mitigated and therefore to better understand how consumers cope with the attitude/behaviour discrepancy that applies across ethical consumption contexts. The additional influences that are apparent in the context of ethical consumer behaviour point towards the internal tensions that consumers feel when balancing their own desires with moral behaviour that favours societal well being. Consumers should take more responsibility for their consumption and disposal of goods. Government and big business need to be more responsible in providing quality products. They also need to provide more to those who keep the consumerism continuum going. The free market is something that the people created. It is the responsibility of the people to make sure that this invention doesn’t go awry. Responsibility for ethical standards lies in the individual, then the group.

References
Abela, A. V.: 2006, ‘Marketing and Consumerism: A Response to O’Shaughnessy and O’Shaughnessy’, European Journal of Marketing 40(1/2), 5–16.
Beder, S.: 2000, Selling the Work Ethic: from Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR (Scribe Publications, Carlton North).
Chan, T.-S. and G. Cui: 2004, ‘Consumer Attitudes Toward Marketing in a Transitional Economy: A Replication and Extension’, Journal of Consumer Marketing 21(1), 10–26.
Fournier, S.: 1998, ‘Consumers and Their Brands: Developing Relationship Theory in Consumer Research’, Journal of Consumer Research 24(4), 343–373.
Himes, K. R.: 2007, ‘Consumerism and Christian Ethics’, Theological Studies 68(1), 132–153.
Ho, C.: 2001, ‘The Work Ethic: They Sell It, But Do We Buy It?’, Australian Review, July 27.
Kraar, L.: 1991, ‘Asia 2000’, Fortune October, 111–113.
O’Shaughnessy, J. and N. O’Shaughnessy: 2002, ‘Marketing, the Consumer Society and Hedonism’, European Journal of Marketing 36(5/6), 524–547.
Schudson, M.: 1984, Advertising, the Uneasy Persuasion (Basic Books, New York, NY).