The global effects of the consumer society

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly modified the Consuming patterns; Physical points of sale have been surpassed by digital platforms and compulsive purchases have increased due to the anxiety and depression generated by confinement. However, this situation initially had a positive effect: reducing daily global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 17%, which, however, has not lasted over time, since, when productive activities were resumed, pollution levels were regularized.

Despite this ecological respite, countries' annual demand for resources continues to exceed the planet's regenerative capacity. The current scenario exemplifies this. the need for environmental awareness and rethinking the economy. The capitalist model has consolidated the consumer culture as the basis of its growth and regeneration; For decades we have found ourselves in a society in which the line between consumer and merchandise is blurred.

What is a consumer society?

The Polish sociologist Zygmunt Bauman describes it in his works Consumer life y Work, consumerism and the new poor as a network of human relationships in which the potential dynamic between the consumer and his object of consumption. It is characterized by being reflected in human interactions, so that in the labor market, the human being becomes an asset whose purpose is to be acquired; no one can be a consumer without first being consumable.

For Bauman, consumerism is a social agreement that results from the reconversion of human desires, desires or desires (if you want, neutral with respect to the system) into the main driving force and operations of society. He points out that the shift from a society of producers to one of consumers was accelerated by deregulation and privatization as economic consequences of the welfare state, which transformed work into a product.

Human beings tend towards consumerism due to their hedonistic nature that drives them to seek personal satisfaction. Therefore, the consumer society promises complacency to the individuals who make it up. However, for this to not reach its limit, needs must remain partially unsatisfied and only short-term gratification must be provided.

This vicious cycle causes feelings of nonconformity, depression and anxiety that end up breaking down social bonds. Capitalist culture, in addition to promoting hustle culture, that seeks the constant productivity of individuals, also takes over free time; has turned leisure into the source of profit for the entertainment industry.

The products and services offered by companies are becoming increasingly ephemeral. El fast fashion or disposable fashion is one of the main examples of a low-cost mass production process that has been popularized for decades under the premise of marketing affordable clothing. However, these types of production chains come with serious environmental consequences and labor exploitation.

View: These are the terrible effects that the industry fast fashion leaves in the environment

Companies guide their strategies marketing towards the creation of needs, instead of towards their satisfaction, which is why the feeling of emptiness when it is not consumed is increasingly greater. Likewise, the specialization of productive sectors should indicate an improvement in manufacturing techniques, but When the goal is profit, quality is no longer a priority.

obsolescence

The social construction of the symbolic value of objects It gives confidence to brands that even if their product is short-lived, consumers will demand it again. Planned obsolescence is the design mechanism with which Manufacturers ensure that the lifespan of a product is shorter, despite not having gone through logical wear and tear.

This planned strategy has come to be considered a crime in France, where it is necessary for products to go through a process that establishes measurement, testing and verification standards to ensure durability. Similarly, in 2016, Ecuador passed a law that sanctions the trade of goods with planned obsolescence. However, even though it is a dishonest business practice, there is no legislation that penalizes it in the rest of the countries. 

The American economist and sociologist, Vance Packard, points out in his work The Waste Makers that there are three types of planned obsolescence:

• Obsolescence of desire: consumer culture demonstrates its psychological effect by making the buyer believe that their product is no longer trendy.
• Function obsolescence: innovation generates new products that are updated and more useful compared to their previous version.
• Quality obsolescence: This is the type that could easily be classified as a crime, since the product is intentionally designed to malfunction.

This situation generates an increase in waste, especially electronic products, which contain components harmful to humans and the environment. Computers, cell phones, appliances and other products are composed of mercury, lead and cadmium, among other harmful substances; So where does this waste go?

The dynamics between nations

It is at this point that the theory of world-system by the American sociologist, economist and historian, Immanuel Wallerstein, takes on special relevance. This approach analyzes the political, economic and sociocultural relations between nations in such a way that it describes the existence of a center made up of industrialized countries, a semiperiphery with a medium level of autonomy and a periphery subordinate to the first two.

The latter is responsible for providing raw materials and cheap labor to semiperipheral and central countries. For capitalist companies in advanced countries it is convenient to opt for offshoring of productionThat is, it is more beneficial in economic and political terms for them to move their production centers to peripheral countries where production costs are lower, as are environmental restrictions.

Therefore, we are talking about a manufacturing process that, in addition to being associated with labor exploitation, generates a large amount of waste in the underdeveloped areas where it is carried out. This way, The central countries obtain the finished product ready to generate profits and ignore the precarious working conditions and environmental pollution.

Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) ends up being agglomerated in Asian and African countries such as Ghana, where the largest amount of unusable products from industrialized countries accumulates. Despite the fact that The European Union banned the shipment of electronic waste to third countries in 1989 due to the agreements of the Basel Congress, illegal garbage trafficking is still in force and, although metal collection represents a means of subsistence for the population, pollution in Ghana exceeds up to one hundred times the internationally permitted pollution levels.

See: Ghana's WEEE landfill, the most contaminated site in the world

Faced with this situation, the Ghanaian government began to take measures in 2016, especially in areas such as Agbogblohsie, a suburb in the country's capital (Accra), which has become the dumping ground for industrialized countries. Another of the seriously affected countries is Nigeria, where 71,000 tons of waste from the United States, Europe and Asia end up every year, equivalent to more than six times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.

View: Up to 90% of electronic waste generated in the world is managed illegally

Although countries such as China, Mexico and India have stricter legislation regarding pollution levels than African countries, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has also tracked the routes of illegal shipment of WEEE to these areas. The United States is the main producer of this electronic waste, however, between 10 and 50% is exported; a practice that frees them from the costs of complying with environmental policies

This problem represents a threat to global environmental security which must be addressed jointly by the international community. Underdeveloped countries must establish legislation that prohibits the importation of waste to prevent the population from being exposed to residual contaminants. For their part, industrialized countries must manage their excessive production and implement stricter environmental recycling policies.

Improper waste management generates greenhouse gases and exacerbates climate change, contributing to rising sea levels and the intensity of droughts. All these effects are extremely harmful to the economic activities of the countries. In 2018 there were 50 million tons of WEEE worldwide, and it is estimated that In thirty years this figure will increase by 240% if measures are not adopted to counteract it.

Capitalism and the myth of progress

The capitalist economic system attributes progress to the development of the means of production, thereby reducing the time necessary to create goods and increasing material wealth. This so-called “progress” does not fully contemplate social well-being; It only translates into the accumulation of capital without addressing the devastation it generates.

Among the devastating consequences of this type of economy are climate change and the destruction of biodiversity, which cannot and should not be classified solely as market failures. States establish maximum threshold limits for the pollution that companies can generate, apply unitary taxes that they must pay and require that standards be adapted to pollution licenses. However, all these measures do not prevent pollution, but rather accept it as a negative externality.

The destructive potential of profit-based progress makes it unsustainable in the long term; it must rethink the approach to economic and environmental policies to contemplate a system of social reproduction that seeks balance between technical and natural productive force. Eco-capitalism or green capitalism has been promoted through agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol, however, they are based on neoliberal policies that deepen inequality between the center and the periphery, while only constituting a short-term solution.

Closing remarks

There are movements with a social focus such as consumerism, which differs from consumerism because it defends the consumer's rights to know the origin and repercussions of the product they plan to purchase, also encourages ethical and responsible consumption. However, the economic system itself is made up of institutions that promote consumerism: forward purchasing, consumer loans, advertising and marketing.

Consumption is part of the capitalist notion of social and economic progress. The sum of a person's assets not only represents his economic prosperity but also his social security. This is expressed through economic indicators such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GDP per capita, which are also intended to be indicators of well-being, although they do not take into account social or environmental costs and are only responsible for count the material wealth of countries.

Current trends that increase or decrease demand are directly influenced by socio-digital networks, which work in collaboration with large corporations. Likewise, the strategies of marketing They are responsible for creating demand for products offered by these companies. Having more translates into being better off, but what quality are the objects we own? What are the consequences of its production? And, in the face of a subordinate consumer society, how much autonomy do we have left as consumers?