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Draft - Cultural Studies - Consumerism

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Draft - Cultural Studies - Consumerism
First things first, consumerism is not new; it may only be during the last decade that the PoundStore has become an everyday occurrence on our high street, raising awareness that things can be bought at a discount, thus uncovering the lust some of the population have to own something better than you do. It actually started as early as the first civilizations, the likes of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Rome; as there remains evidence that societies purchased things well in excess of their basic needs.
That evidence can be found in remains and paintings that depict food staggered in bulk, slaves and servants surrounding those in power and control, marbles statues, exotic spices, silks and a world of varied philosophies, that all flowed to the mouth of the Tiber and up to the heart of Rome long before anything was mass produced.
Consumerism has proved it can be beneficial to the economy, when there is a demand for things, of that there is no denying, If you fast forward to the industrial revolution, when products were produced upon a huge scale, and things became more affordable to the everyday civilian, mass production resulted in mass consumption, all of which aided the economy of the time. So as the demand increases so does production, which accordingly creates numerous jobs. That said it creates a strong a negative opinion as it does positive.
You, as the consumer, have now become more aware of the specification of a product long before you come to purchase it, as it is now that easy to find and access that information, whether this be done via the internet or in store, and you now have a higher demand on the quality of the things you purchase, the decision of “which one do I get?” has now become more complex than ever.
Today consumerism is as big an issue as ever, and one that everyone talks about, whether it’s realized or not, such is its scale.
The main objective of me writing this essay is to identify what motivates consumers to make their purchase? We know



Bibliography: TAYLOR, C. (2011). The seven deadly sins. Settling the argument between born bad and damaged good. London, Ebury. HEATH, J., & POTTER, A. (2006). The rebel sell: how the counterculture became consumer culture. Chichester, Capstone. Bingham, J. (2011) Cycle of 'compulsive consumerism ' leaves British family life in crisis, Unicef study finds - Telegraph. [online] Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8760558/Cycle-of-compulsive-consumerism-leaves-British-family-life-in-crisis-Unicef-study-finds.html [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012]. Businessteacher.org.uk (2009) Consumerism. [online] Available at: http://www.businessteacher.org.uk/international-relations-essays/consumerism/ [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012]. En.wikipedia.org (1915) Consumerism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumerism [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012]. Hanson, C. (2009) Letters from a broad...: Wall-E: our new brave new world.... [online] Available at: http://lfab-uvm.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/wall-e-our-new-brave-new-world.html [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012]. Helium.com (2009) Excess consumerism: Obsessed with shopping - Spending & Saving (Other) - Helium. [online] Available at: http://www.helium.com/knowledge/20575-excess-consumerism-obsessed-with-shopping [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012]. Thehathorlegacy.com (2008) Wall-E was completely and totally made of win. — The Hathor Legacy. [online] Available at: http://thehathorlegacy.com/wall-e-was-completely-and-totally-made-of-win/ [Accessed: 20 Nov 2012].

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