This page was created for the participants in one of our Climate Conversations. It records our thoughts and feelings on the topic that day. Responses are edited for clarity and anonymity. They aren’t fact-checked so there may be errors and inaccuracies. If you want to know more about the topic, you may find the conversation guide below helpful.
Conversation guide
What does consumerism mean?
The term ‘consumerism’ is used in different ways. We all have to consume things in order to survive. Consumerism goes beyond that, but what exactly does it mean to us?
“Having stuff”.
“Buying stuff that isn’t necessarily for health, safety or security”.
“Buying excess”.
“Overconsumption or hyperconsumption”.
“Unnecessary human consumption of material things”.
“Unthoughtfully buying things we don’t need”.
“It is linked to materialism and the importance of material objects”.
“Pushing consumption”.
Definitions from Wikipedia:
Consumerism means a social and economic order in which the aspirations of many individuals include the acquisition of goods and services beyond those necessary for survival or traditional displays of status.[1]
Consumerism means excessive materialism and wastefulness.
Consumerism is a force from the marketplace. It harms individuality and society.
“It’s interesting that traditional status doesn’t count. Why isn’t it consumerism if a king, for example, has lots of stuff?”
“Our standard of life is so much higher than 200 years ago”.
“Consumerism creates discontent”.
“It makes you feel bad about yourself”.
We tried to distinguish between consuming for subsistence and consumerism. We also wondered whether shopping is still part of consumerism if the money goes to charity, and what would happen if we stopped shopping. What about the jobs and incomes?
What are the problems and failures of consumerism?
Our perennial question is what can we do to change things for the better. One part of Donnella Meadows answer is to keep pointing out the anomolies and failures of the old way of thinking. Here’s what we came up with!
“Climate change”.
“Everything we consume has a carbon footprint”.
“Poisoning the air, the water and the soil”.
“Man-made disasters”.
“Unequal distribution of wealth”.
“Extreme poverty”.
“Exploitation in the production process”.
“Perceived poverty”.
“Dissatisfaction”.
“Feeling bad”.
“Satisfaction is short-term”.
“Constantly comparing yourself”.
“Less emphasis on community and compassion”.
“It reinforces GDP which is a stupid way of measuring”.
“The impact on animals”.
“Neglect the hierarchy of needs“.
“Creates a lot of rubbish and we don’t know how to get rid of it”.
“Things are made badly”.
“Things can be dangerous e.g. cheap, imported e-bikes”.
“It acts like a drug”.
“It causes arguments”.
“It’s bad for society”.
“Debt”.
“Selfishness”.
“Everything seems fake”.
“It doesn’t solve real problems”.
“People are trapped in a work-TV-spend cycle”.
“It continues colonialism”.
“I feel morally compromised”.
“I feel manipulated”.
What do you think or feel at the end of today’s conversation?
“A bit conflicted”.
“I don’t think I’m a big consumer”.
“I’m still not clear about the economy: why does it need to grow?”
“We need a better balance but how do we make that happen?”
“I need to give a bit more thought to charity shops”.
“It made me think about advertising. Maybe there should be restrictions”.
“If there was less advertising and less consumption people would be happier”.
“I was worried this topic would make me feel negative but I felt it was moving towards something”.
“I’ve realised how stuck in it I am”.