In the current situation, if a Chinese person owns a smartphone, it is very likely that they have made online purchases. More and more people are being guided to join the consumer army, and more and more people are staying on short video platforms and then placing orders, even though they may not end up using many of the things they buy.
So what is the reason behind countless people immersing themselves in the shopping frenzy without realizing it? Is it the fault of the consumers? The producers? Or the tool providers? In this era of rampant consumerism, let's take a look at the underlying reasons for the situation mentioned above.
The Age of Consumption#
Production and consumption are the fundamental parts of society. Production allows social resources to flow and allows people to participate in the production process, satisfying the labor needed for life and production, and giving meaning to human existence. Consumption allows the circulation and consumption of produced goods, promoting the realization of the next step of production and allowing producers to continue participating in production. After all, your consumption costs are offset by the costs you have paid in the production process. In this way, society develops through the process of production and consumption, and individuals join the operation of society, providing the value needed for social development. More accurately, individuals are the fuel that drives the entire social machine.
For a long time, the status of individuals in relation to the social machine has been unequal, and there are differences in relationships between individuals. Some people have more social resources and relationships, allowing them to occupy a more advantageous position in the process of social production and consumption. Therefore, in the long run, production and consumption are a balanced relationship, but within this balance, there are distinctions. A small number of people have the majority of the benefits, while the majority of people endlessly provide fuel for the operation of society.
Today, this division is becoming more and more severe. More and more simple jobs are being replaced by machines, which are controlled by a few people. This has led to fewer and fewer ordinary people qualifying to participate in production, but they still need to consume. As we mentioned earlier, participation in production is necessary to obtain the capital for consumption. However, more and more people are losing their right to participate in production, and their situation is becoming worse. This is one aspect that we won't discuss today. Today, we will talk about another aspect. Even in a situation where social divisions are becoming more and more severe, major platform businesses are still using the power of platforms to make the situation even more difficult for ordinary people. Various shopping platforms are easy to spread and have extremely low marginal costs, attracting more and more people to join. What do they do next? They use various means to stimulate users' desires, whether it's discounts, live broadcasts, big gift packages, or price reductions. They use various methods and marketing techniques to make you have various desires, and then consume for those desires, taking the hard-earned money out of your pocket. This is the most terrifying aspect of consumerism today.
Faced with this situation, perhaps the only thing we can do is to delve deeper into the phenomenon. Next, let's analyze the underlying reasons for the prevalence of consumerism in society.
Reasons for the Prevalence of Consumerism#
We know that as members of society, it is inevitable for us to participate in production, and of course, consumption is also a natural part of life. However, when we discuss the prevalence of consumerism, the problem lies in the fact that society has led the public down a more secluded path. Platforms and capital excessively create consumer desires, leading more ordinary people to unconsciously embark on the path of consumption, and ultimately being harvested by capital.
Here, we will discuss the problem from three aspects: the government, capital, and individuals. These three parts are intertwined and cannot be completely separated. The government and capital are composed of individuals, but these individuals are completely different from the majority of individuals. Therefore, in this discussion, individuals mostly refer to the general public.
Government#
At the government level, maintaining the balance between consumption and production is its function. Sometimes, when consumption exceeds production and leads to supply shortages, the government needs to intervene to prevent further inflation. When production exceeds consumption, the overall social transactions slow down, and the government needs to stimulate social consumption demand.
In the process of regulating this balance, some specific details may be more difficult. For example, when facing commercial platforms, it is very complex and significant to control and rationalize policies and regulations. It should not hinder the normal development of enterprises, nor should it allow enterprises to excessively guide the public to overconsume. There are many specific operations that need to be improved by relevant experts, such as detailed policies and regulations in the supervision, approval, and standardization of relevant fields. Currently, there is still much work to be done in this regard.
Capital#
Capital itself is neither good nor bad, and our evaluation of it comes from what it has done. Capital undoubtedly needs good returns, but it should not engage in activities that harm social development for the sake of returns. Good capital not only needs to earn profits but also needs to use its power to promote social progress and development.
Today, more platforms are expanding crazily with the support of capital. Through promotion and marketing, they continuously create more "consumer desires" and make more ordinary people unconsciously consume. This leads to better financial data for the platforms and capital, but their users are being drained. This is not good for society as a whole.
Individuals#
The thinking ability of the general public is limited, and this thinking ability mostly refers to thinking about the underlying reasons and laws of things. Most of us are like fish in water, only able to feel ourselves swimming in different places every day, but completely unaware of the existence of water. So, on the one hand, our understanding and cognition of ourselves are extremely limited. In the process of consumption, we are uncertain about what we really need and are easily blindly consumed. On the other hand, our understanding of the social environment we are in is limited. We are almost led by the environment, making it easy for capital to guide us to overconsume and make impulsive purchases, further deteriorating our personal living conditions.
As members of society, we cannot give up the consumer lifestyle. So how do we face consumerism?
How to Face Consumerism#
First, we need to have a rational view of consumption. Consumption is a normal part of life, and reasonable consumption is what we need. When facing consumerism, we should be more open-minded, not avoiding it but facing it directly.
Here is a key point: consumption serves life. When we consume a product, it is ultimately to gain happiness in life and the fulfillment of our lives. If your consumption brings you pain, then you need to think about whether it is something you truly need.
Before consumption, I think we can set some principles. Consumption behaviors that violate these principles should be carefully considered before proceeding. Of course, these principles are not set in stone and can be adjusted according to different stages of life. However, they should not be changed casually. Once they are established, they should be followed, especially during consumption. For example, my principles are:
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Consume within your current abilities: If your current abilities cannot support your consumption, then you need to be cautious, especially to prevent borrowing from the future or taking on external debt.
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Is this item indispensable? If it is not a necessity, then it can be avoided.
Facing Consumerism Directly#
In this article, we discussed the current situation of the consumerism era, and then briefly analyzed the reasons for the prevalence of consumerism from the perspectives of the government, capital, and individuals. Finally, we talked about some thoughts on how individuals can face consumerism.
We cannot avoid consumerism, nor do we need to. The only thing we can do is to consume more reasonably and let consumption serve our happiness. To achieve this, we need to focus on the following two points:
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Understand yourself and develop yourself: We need to read more, practice more, explore more, and think more, constantly understanding ourselves and making ourselves richer. All consumption comes from desires. When we understand ourselves enough and have a more fulfilling soul, we can control ourselves instead of being manipulated by consumerism.
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Maintain thinking about the environment we are in: I believe that people are products of their environment, and we cannot exist without the environment. If we want a better life, a happier life, we need to maintain thinking about the environment we are in, and be vigilant and curious about the business, political, and cultural environment. Only in this way can we have more autonomy and grasp more.
In the long run, life is short and insignificant. Pursuing happiness is the most important thing!