“When I could not decide between two shirts, they encouraged me to buy both.” This is a line from the postmodernist novel White Noise, written by Don DeLillo. This way of thinking encapsulates one of the defining features of consumerism: the idea that more is better.
By the end of the first decade of this century, consumption had been hailed as a panacea for society when, in fact, it was nothing more than a palliative.
Consumerism has already become a way of life, in which happiness is believed to lie in accumulating material goods and increasing consumption in general. The consumerist frenzy began to gain momentum in the late 1920s with the launch of the “gospel of consumption,” which asserted that people can and must be convinced that no matter how much they have, it is never enough. Based on this “gospel”, in 1929 Charles Kettering, director of General Motors Research, wrote an article titled “Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied”, in which he presented his ingenious strategy for creating new human needs to replace those that had already been met. The central message of the article was that consumers must be kept in a constant state of dissatisfaction.
Consumption—vectors and temples
Don DeLillo introduces the interesting and unifying concept of the “religion of the supermarket”. This is based on several pillars that fuel the desire to consume and provide the necessary framework for its manifestation: Advertising. In 1929, the US Committee on Recent Economic Changes highlighted the important role of advertising in creating artificial needs.
Advertising stirs up in consumers the need to consume more and more. Consumers are driven to keep up with the latest market releases of products that interest them, such as electronics, computer technology, personal care products, clothing, and luxury goods. Billboards often depict happy families returning from a shopping trip with impressive purchases, and these stereotypes can have a manipulative impact on families.
Marketing strategies bombard families with enticing offers: Christmas promotions, sales, shopping marathons, raffles, and gift cards, all designed to convince customers that they will benefit by taking advantage of these opportunities.
Easy loans fall into the same category; until recently, they could be obtained from many banks eager to attract customers. Also worth mentioning here are deceptive offers or contracts with unclear or hidden clauses.
Malls, which are specifically designed to stimulate consumption, are veritable temples to the God of Consumption from a surrealist perspective. Shopping often becomes a weekly routine, with supermarkets and shopping centres tending to replace individuals’ social and religious habits.
Although seemingly discredited by healthy eating campaigns, fast-food restaurants continue to play an important role in the development of consumerism through clever marketing strategies.
Psychological underpinnings
Consumption is a form of aggressive social competition. For this reason, when shoppers “perform” this act, they experience a false sense of security and a perceived sense of well-being. For consumerists, shopping acts as a quick remedy for anxiety and life’s pressures, providing both physical and mental stimulation.
According to British sociology professor Mike Featherstone, the essence of consumerism lies in the belief that consumption gives consumers authority over their daily lives. From there, it is only a short step to making purchases aimed at improving a deficient self-image. The self-image of die-hard consumers is determined by what they wear, the car they drive, and where they spend their money. Consumerists become slaves to dissatisfaction, time, and money. Ironically, die-hard consumers derive more fulfilment from the act of spending than from the objects purchased.
The impact of consumerism on the family
The harmful effects of consumerism exacerbate the other problems that plague family life. Many analysts of the consumerist phenomenon believe that today’s families are structured around consumption patterns. Long working hours reduce time spent with family, and the evening meal, once a sacred time for family togetherness and conversation, has nearly disappeared from the modern family landscape, absorbed by the demands of consumption.
The act of consumption creates an interdependence, or mutual influence, between parents and children. Children depend on their parents’ financial resources, while parents control their children’s desire to consume. Psychologists suggest that a father who takes the family shopping may experience a sense of importance, provided the family is a two-parent household. Shopping together fosters a sense of family because it is an activity that can be enjoyed as a group.
However, the shopping itself captures attention, with interaction among family members taking a back seat and serving a utilitarian purpose.
Caught up in the cycle of consumption and driven by the desire to gain more and more in the short term, many families have realised their mistake too late, when they are already trapped by suffocating debt. Quite a few of these families have fallen apart, and against the backdrop of reckless spending, we even see the extreme phenomenon of suicide for financial reasons.
“How many things there are that I do not want!” —Socrates Special attention must be paid to how children and young people perceive the effects of consumerism. In his book The High Price of Materialism, Tim Kasser reveals that, starting in the mid-1960s, over 200,000 first-year college students were interviewed by researcher Alexander Astin’s team about the values they considered important in life. Thirty years after the study began, the percentage of students who listed “developing a healthy philosophy of life” among their future ideals had dropped from 80% to 40%. In contrast, the desire for financial well-being had risen dramatically, from 40% to 70%.
Tips for parents (Tim Kasser: The High Price of Materialism)
- Bear in mind the saying, “Like parent, like child”, which refers to children’s ability to adopt the behavioural patterns they observe.
- Vary your children’s activities.
- Talk to your children about materialism.
- Share experiences with other parents.
- Try to bring about changes at school.
Spiritual implications
As early as 1955, the economist Victor Lebow stated that buying and using objects had become a ritual for consumers seeking spiritual satisfaction from the exhilaration of consumption. Consumerism is fuelled by selfishness and the frantic pace of such a lifestyle leaves no time for introspection, resulting in the neglect of spiritual life. For a consumerist, God becomes the mental equivalent of an accessory. Juliet Schor of Boston College aptly observed these connections when she wrote that people “spend more than they say they would like to, and more than they have. That they spend more than they realise they are spending, and more than is fiscally prudent. And that they spend in ways that are collectively, if not individually, self-defeating.”
Solutions from the Church
In a January 2001 article in the Houston Catholic Worker, Catholic priest Timothy V. Vaverek proposed three spiritual remedies for the Christian family in response to the threat of consumerism: a life of repentance, Sabbath observance, and tithing. Interestingly, the priest noted that these remedies had been successfully implemented in his parish.
By a life of repentance, Vaverek meant the outward expression of faith through fasting and acts of kindness as a counterbalance to selfish consumerist impulses which suppress “rest, recreation, joy, or prayer”. However, the priest acknowledged that ” adding God and prayer into the consumerist pantheon of activities is not enough to restore genuine piety”.
Regarding the healing value of observing the Sabbath, the Catholic parish priest promised the benefits of a special time dedicated to God and loved ones — a time of rest away from work and shopping, away from the frenzied world. Moreover, the Catholic author proposed reorganising the entire week around the Sabbath.
The practice of giving a tenth of one’s income — the third of Vaverek’s solutions — was also presented as a spiritual exercise and a safeguard against consumerist impulses, offering to God what is, in fact, His.
Vaverek’s solutions are unusual because they stem from a realm that transcends the concrete economic and financial sphere. But, as the spiritual leader said, these solutions have been tried and tested. How was this possible? In practice, Vaverek’s proposals addressed the root causes of the phenomenon, relying on simple measures. The strength and vigour required for the spiritual father’s approach stemmed from a return to authentic biblical values.
The Kellogg’s case
In the May–June 2008 issue of Orion magazine, Jeffrey Kaplan published a relevant article on consumerism. Among other things, he analysed a historical case of combatting consumerism. In 1930, Kellogg’s, a company based in Battle Creek, Michigan, which is known for producing cereals, made a strategic move. The company’s 1,500 employees were informed that the working day would be reduced from eight hours to six, with operations shifting from three to four shifts per day. This move enabled the company to protect jobs at a time when the US was facing the Great Depression.
The results exceeded expectations, as workers were more efficient during the six-hour shifts. Efficiency also increased by eliminating the lunch break, which was no longer necessary under these conditions. At the time, both Forbes and BusinessWeek praised Kellogg’s success. Last but not least, this initiative benefited employees’ families. As well as keeping their jobs, people had more time to spend with their families. Subsequent analyses revealed that the quality of life in that community had improved: people were able to devote more time to gardening and household activities. Family communication improved significantly, social life flourished, and the local community clearly prospered. Although people earned less, they were happier.
Ideological and practical anti-consumerism
James E. Burroughs, a professor at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, believes that material possessions are neither inherently good nor bad. It is the role and value assigned to them that makes the difference, making things good or bad. The important thing is to find a balance, appreciating what you have without compromising the values that truly matter: family, community, and spirituality.
In 1967, Dr Martin Luther King Jr. drew attention to the dangers of consumerism, emphasising the need for an ideological shift from a thing-centred society to a person-centred society. Oswald Spengler, a German historian, is a notable figure within the anti-consumerist movement. In his view, “life in America is exclusively economic in its structure and lacks depth”. Encouragingly, anti-consumerism is gaining more and more followers, although the process is quite slow. The movement’s goals include protecting the planet from the effects of excessive consumption and improving quality of life through simplicity.
First and foremost, families need to redefine their concept of “need”. We often confuse what we want with what we need. We must develop the ability to clearly distinguish between what we desire and what is necessary. Exercising self-control and giving up credit cards is important. In this context, keeping a list of items to be purchased will be very helpful. For Christians facing the onslaught of consumerism, the Apostle Paul’s advice in Hebrews 13:5 is particularly valuable: “Be content with what you have!” Short-, medium-, and long-term family financial planning is another urgent necessity in the fight against consumer dominance. Finally, the well-known 3 Rs: Reduce! Reuse! Recycle!
