Question 2
Consumption and economic growth are the only two effective economic goals worth striving for in a modern globalized society. Do you agree?
Consumption and economic growth are like
In this essay it will be argued that the economic growth and consumption are unsustainable, environmentally detrimental and have a negative impact on human health and development and are not goals worth striving for in our modern globalized society.
An expanding society is not a sustainable one nor is it environmentally friendly and is detrimental to the quality and health of human life. The act of consumption, which is using goods and services and the concept of economic growth, which can be defined by the stable increase in the productive capacity of an economy are not the only economic goals worth striving for in our modern globalized society which is a process of “Internationalisation, liberalisation, universalisation, modernisation and deterritorialisation”(Niski M 2012).
The act of consumption in economic terms is a process of a consumer spending money on goods and services, consumerism is a social and economic belief that encourages and enforces the consumption of goods and services in great amounts. In a capitalist society such as Australia which is based on economic growth, a consumerist society could be deemed to be beneficial towards the expansion of a nation’s economy. With this being said it should not be a main economic ambition as excess consumption is a wasteful recreational activity that pillages the Earth’s natural resources and is based on an unsustainable principle. The planet that we live on is very similar to all of the planets in the universe in the sense that it’s finite, meaning that there is a limit ...
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... the amount of finite resources they require to build upon and to sustain.
Works Cited
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Frank, J. (2013). Video: Stars in the Haze by Joshua Frank. Available: http://www.chinaairdaily.com/#Guangzhou#2013-11-01. Last accessed 1st of Nov 2013.
Fine Particles (PM 2.5) Questions and Answers. Available: http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/indoors/air/pmq_a.htm. Last accessed 1st of Nov 2013.
Niski, M. (2012). Globalisation and The Environment: The Challenge of Balancing Human Economic Activity with Environmental Management and Protection. Available: http://economyandsociety2012.pbworks.com/w/file/fetch/70147345/%20%E2%80%9CEnviron%20%2B%20globaliz.ppt%E2%80%9D.pdf. Last accessed 12th of November 2013.
It is the way that we live and how we consume things in our world without thinking of the consequences that is causing environmental crises all over the world. The chapter goes on to say that types of technologies and the way that the world produces and consumes products “create a framework which ends up conditioning lifestyles and shaping social possibilities along the lines dictated by interests of certain powerful groups.” Which means that only big corporations and those who have a lot of money benefit from the lifestyle that the western world has created, those in developing countries suffer and are most at risk to the environmental phenomena’s that the world is
Through out the world, thousand of starving people look wherever they can for scraps of food or spare change. On the other hand, millionaires and billionaires can buy a private jet to fly anywhere on a whim while eating the finest of foods. In the middle, ordinary people work regular twelve-hour days in order to pay the bills and put food on the table. Each person can be in a different category. Most often you can tell which category an individual is in by looking at the things they own. Consumerism, or the push to buy goods and services, is not a new thing. It has been around since the very first sale or trade centuries ago. Although today, controversy has arisen about the rapidly growing rate of consumerism and how it affects the economy around the world. Is the current rate of consumerism a good or bad effect on the economy? Also, what are some ways to help people understand consumerism better? As I do research and explore, I hope to find the answers to these questions in order to understand the issue better myself.
So from the beginning of the whole process: McKibben has made it clear that our economy is structured around purchasing, and the way to keep people purchasing is to advertise. Advertising tricks people into idealising a product, and makes them want to buy it because it will make them cooler, better or essentially just more happy. The reason we need to buy more is because we believe we will be better off with it, that it will make our lives more efficient. Ascending from that original trend to buy, it also pushed a new type of thinking: he wrote that that “efficiency [is] the ultimate tool for exploiting the earth’s resources in order to advance material wealth and human progress.” (McKibben, 5) In other words it was a campaign to be productive and make everything more efficient. Efficiency creates new things that are better than the old ones, this is how growth is made. McKibben knows that if people are told to buy into efficiency, they will, because everything is built around supporting people to buy new and effective things. If all products can be replaced with better versions of themselves, then the process will never stop! McKibben also has acknowledged that through constant progression, the top 5% most affluent people are the only ones who are gaining from everyone else's mislead need to buy into growth. It is easy
Throughout history the connection between consumption and capitalism has played an integral part towards social changes that have occurred. As society changed so did the theories used to explain why these changes seemed the way they were. The sociology of Consumption has been rooted within sociological theory since its earliest days for example from Karl Marx’s ideas of utilisation of use-values (Marx, Engels and Arthur, 1972). However even within in these roots the influx of research only began to occur within last few decades. The sociology of consumption provides another route in which theorists can study society. As Marshall (1998) believed that sociology theory had for a long time been eclipsed by theories such as alienation and social class to name a few that are constantly being used to explain the basics of the social order and conflict with it. Although consumption has grown within the last few decided it’s not an easy term to define as there is not a standardised definition as many people believe when talking about consumption they already understand what is meant by the world. However it’s more likely they understand the word in terms of what it means to “consume” as the majority of society consumes on a daily basis.
The entire premise of the social contract requires one to acquire currency, which ultimately requires the consumption of natural resources in most cases. In modernity this holds true, as the sustainability of governments is dependant on taxation in all foreseeable circumstances. This has led to a culture of consumption which is especially evident in every developed country. The only example needed for this culture is to consider the timeline of the average person in any developed country - birth, schooling, work, followed by death or retirement. The value of this style of life is controversial, however this is the nine to five work week lifestyle that developed nations have
...ver growing population I believe we either need to start reducing our consumption or start fixing the production.
However, the increase in the workforce , or hours worked, limits labor growth. Again, according to McTeer, in the long run, productivity growth is the key to rising living standards.
Dokoupil, Tony. A. The "Suicide Epidemic" Newsweek Global 161.19 (2013): 1 Business Source Premier. EBSCO. Web.
...pollute the Earth with massive waste. Society has the choice between wasting life on working in order to purchase good which contribute to the destruction of the environment or living a ‘full satisfying life’, occasionally scavenging or working your self-sufficiency skills to obtain the necessities for contentment, eliminating waste, and boycotting everything.
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
Over the past few decades there have been discourses both in favor and against Globalization’s capacity to guarantee a sustainable future. Authors attest societies and businesses’ inability to account for ecological and environmental limits when dealing with economic growth, examples of this are some of the traditional business metrics used by most global companies, and nations’ measure of wealth (GDP); both sides heavily resting on economic factors, fail to account for societal and environmental concerns (Byrnea & Gloverb, 2002). Other researchers point at the intensive use of resources, especially by global corporations; such as the increasing and careless consumption of fossil fuels, water, precious metals, etc. leading to a rise in GHG (Starke, 2002) (United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 2000). Most fervent opponents go as far as to call ‘sustainable development’ an oxymoron (Ayres, 1995).
...dearly-held, unconscious collective assumptions may impede our chances for survival. Or, as Poliakoff, et. al., noted, “fundamental changes in technology are adopted… only when they provide real advantage” (810). Are human beings inherently selfish, or are they capable of rising above that? Will we use this power we have developed to help ourselves, or to attempt to help the world? “Why can’t we achieve a better balance between people, resources, and the environment? … The complete answers to these questions lie deeply within the complex realms of science, philosophy, religion, economics, and politics.” (170). The answers may be complicated. The truth is, industrialization has changed our relationship to the environment. It has enabled us to hurt it far more than any other species, but it has also given us the ability to help. The power of choice now lies with us.
These differing emphases naturally point to fundamentally different solutions: slow population growth in less-developed nations or change destructive consumption and production patterns in the more-developed nations. This debate, however, assumes a one-step answer to the complex problems created by population pressures on the environment. Both population size and consumption influence environmental change and are among the many factors that need to be combined into credible policy debates.... ... middle of paper ... ...
It is natural to be misled by the idea that economic growth is the key
As Green stated in the above quote people will never stop buying things. The people needs could be categorized into two main types. The first one are items or products that are vital for survival such as: food, water, apparels, place to live, access to medical services and so on. On the other hand, the second type of products consist into a wide range of different items and services. For instance, brand clothes, fancy cars, high-tech gadgets, multiple estate and high lifestyle are just a few examples of product that are not critical in order to survive.