CONSUMERISMDIANA GARCÍA & EMILIO ZURITA

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WHAT IS CONSUMERISM?

• Consumerism is the theory that increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable. It encourages the acquisition of goods and services in even greater amounts.

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CONSUMERISM IN THE BOOK

In Brave New World, consumerism is a very strong method that the world state uses to control the population. People are conditioned to think that as soon as products get old they should be replaced, and that they should take every opportunity to consume as much as possible.

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– Brave New World, Chapter 3, Pg. 49, Paragraph 7

“Ending is better than mending. The more

stitches, the less riches.”

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CONSUMERISM IN OUR LIVES

Today’s society is influenced by massive corporations that feed on our consumerism, and it is arguable that we are under the control of these corporations. Unlike in the book, consumerism in our world is not driven by the government, but it does not seem interested in reducing consumption. After all, it is easier to keep the population under control when they are distracted buying pointlessly.

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APPLEEXAMPLE 1

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Apple is a major technology corporation with an impressive amount of power. It creates products such as phones, tablets, computers, and basically electronic devices aimed at the public. It is a very common happening that, as soon as a new Apple product is released, people go on a desperate frenzy to buy it immediately. Usually it is the middle and higher classes which exhibit these conducts, but it is still a very influential thing.

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Apple leads us to think that we need their products, when in reality there are much more important things in life. Also, there are several other options in the same field, but we’ve been conditioned to think that Apple is the best there is. We believe that in order to be accepted, to give others a good impression, and even to be complete and satisfied, we need the newest iPhone. This kind of thinking distracts us from the important things around us and turn our thought patterns repetitive and shallow. Also, we idolize electronics to the point of being ridiculously happy of having Apple products.

MALLSEXAMPLE 2

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Shopping malls are luxurious buildings of stores, where comercial products are literally sold side by side in a concentrated area. Now a days, going to the mall is a very poplar social activity, whether you go with your family, your friends, or your significant one. Since malls also foster a variety of restaurants, it is very common for people to go eat there, and browse through the stores and merchandizes on their way out.

The fact that our social interactions now revolve around the consumption of comercial products is highly alarming. Yes, it is nice to eat out, but there is really no need for every gathering to happen in the shopping mall. Also, it is a place where the bombarding of propaganda is unfiltered and constant. Again, this extreme consumerism easily distracts us and allows us to pass the time without much reflection on our actions and on the world we live in.

OVERALL CONCLUSION

A very common way in the book of controlling people is by inflicting pleasure. Consumerism allows the World State to thrive, keeping people busy buying, seeing as they are dumping all their attention on irrelevant material items, and they have basically no control over their way of thinking. They have been deeply accustomed to never questioning anything. The government doesn’t want people being exposed to any information that may provoque thought or realization. It is terrifying to think of how predictable, shallow, and dull the people become. Almost like cardboard cutouts. And the scariest thing is that it does not seem like an unlikely future for us.

– Brave New World, Chapter 3, Pg. 35

“You can’t consume much if you sit still and read

books.”

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