Picture a crowd chasing after a product of a high-end luxury brand despite knowing very well the same utility could be derived from a cheaper-priced good. Think of the classic Burberry check cashmere scarf, the patent Supreme white t-shirt, a Rolex watch, a Tiffany necklace, or the Hermès belt buckle, to name a few. Rang a bell, didn’t it? Well, I’m sure it did for most us.
Conspicuous consumption refers to the practice of increasingly spending money to buy more and more expensive items as a depiction of affluence and social acceptability. The term was coined in 1899 by the American economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen in his book ‘The Theory of the Leisure Class”. The type of goods for which demand increases as the price increases are called Veblen goods. The exclusive nature of certain luxury goods leads to this phenomenon. These luxury items are characterized by an upward sloping demand curve as increasing prices make the product more desirable. Veblen, in his book, described the two aspects of a good that are recognized by every consumer—the serviceability and the honorific aspect. Serviceability simply refers to utility aspect of fulfilling the prime purpose or ‘getting the job done’, whereas the honorific characteristic talks about the establishment of a ‘wealthy’ status due to proud ownership of these products.
However, in the 17th and 18th centuries the practice of consumerism had not taken shape as what we know it to be today. Many religions such as Christianity preached prudence and looked down upon consumerism as resources were considered to be gifts from God that should be protected and not misused. A very interesting tradition grew out of this. Since huge price gaps were inevident at the time for most utility goods, people established their monetary superiority through quantity of purchase. Let us look at wine as an example. Wine has been used for multiple purposes over the decades. Its use alongside medicines in the 18th century led to its classification as a necessity good. Still, despite the fact that everyone bought wine, the wealthy could be differentiated as bulk purchases showcased their indulgence.
The growth of population with the onset of industrialization led to generation of employment and rise in income for most. This steady growth of income led to improvement in the standard of living of people and more disposable income to be spent after meeting the basic needs. The 5-tier need hierarchy theory given by Maslow explains how people first meet their basic physiological needs, followed by safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization needs respectively. Following this pattern of psychology, human beings start attaching importance to materialism and consumerism in order to fulfill their esteem needs after crossing the belongingness threshold. This materialistic outlook allowed them to establish themselves in society, which ultimately led to it becoming the norm that we know of today.
Since people started attaching greater significance to luxury products as a means of defining ourselves, the ‘want’ to acquire these naturally magnified and generated desire among individuals. The ‘bandwagon effect’ is a psychological phenomenon wherein people indulge in an act as a symbol of social acceptance, regardless of their own belief. As a result, conformism is promoted and snob value is highlighted in society.
The artificial need has evolved through hype produced by advertising and social media. Advertisements often misrepresent a product and create unrealistic expectations for consumers. Instead of selling the product itself, luxury companies market the experience that consumers are supposed to feel with this product. Marketing agencies use the psychological principle of mental conditioning through repetition to generated desire. This is often alleviated by hiring influential and affluent celebrities to portray the use of products as a necessary part of their daily life, and hence we derive meaning through the product’s association with the celebrity. Therefore, there has been a visible shift from catering to the consumer needs during production to manipulation of the same consumers into desiring the product that is being marketed.
Apart from helping advertising agencies mint a fortune, the companies end up making supernormal profits due to exorbitant price tags in the market attributed to its hype and exclusivity. And these are few of the only firms that remain nearly unaffected by recession, hence making them the ultimate winner.
Most of us have indulged in conspicuous consumption sometime or the other. This kind of behavior highlights income inequality in the society and leads to aggressive ostentation, a type of anti-social behavior. People go on demanding more and more luxurious products, competing with the other individuals doing the same thing. This leads to a vicious cycle of trying to reduce the esteem and social status of the next person. The lower and middle class try to adopt the same lifestyle as the upper class despite the unaffordability of such a lifestyle. This practice in turn raises the debt of its maintenance. This has also led to the creation of an alternate, illegal market for duplicate products. Apart from this, the resource count is decreasing due to our ever-growing demand and rise in consumerism, especially in the fashion industry.
Consumerism has contributed greatly to global warming as consumption—in all forms—is responsible for up to 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, 80% of resources are consumed by only 16% of the global population. It is imperative for this generation to make a deliberate effort in shifting from materialism and conspicuous consumption to minimalism and conscious consumption. The depletion of resources along with increasing technical advancements that we witness each day has led to numerous theories about the post-consumerism era and emphasizes on the rethinking our commitment towards the planet, because this era of post-consumerism is closer than we think.
WRITTEN BY:
Kommentare