Consumer society

• In consumption that goes beyond the struggle for physical existence, the vast majority of the population is involved to varying degrees. Over the past 40 years, personal spending on goods and services worldwide has more than quadrupled, from $ 4.8 billion in 1960 to $ 20 billion in 2000 .

• In trade and services, the role of small shops is decreasing. Major shopping centers and supermarkets begin to play the main role. Shopping and shopping are becoming widespread, which is becoming a popular form of leisure and an end in itself (when goods are purchased not in connection with practical necessity, but for some moral satisfaction, “shopping for shopping”).
• The revolution in communications (the spread of the Internet , mobile networks ) leads to the formation of a new information space and the expansion of the scope of communication. Moreover, access to this space and participation in communication become paid services that are impossible without an intermediary (provider).
• The economic system is closely intertwined with the culture of consumption. Business produces cultural phenomena such as tastes, desires, values, norms of behavior, interests. An important role in this is played by advertising , penetrating into the deepest layers of consciousness.
• Competition between manufacturers creates competition among consumers. A person in a consumer society seeks to consume in such a way that, on the one hand, he is “no worse than others,” and on the other hand, “not merge with the crowd.” Individual consumption reflects not only the social characteristics of the consumer, being a demonstration of his social status, but also the features of his individual lifestyle.

• A developed lending system, bank cards, traveler’s checks , loyal customer cards and the like appears. All this speeds up the decision-making process when shopping.
• The credit system becomes the basis of social control when well-being is based on things purchased on credit and depends on stable earnings. In addition to direct loans, the consumer pays the cost of loans to manufacturers and distributors. According to studies conducted by employees of the JAK banking system ( Sweden ), in Germany by 1993 the average “percentage” component of the total cost of goods and services reached 50%. In 2000, 80% of the population buying goods, ultimately more than 50% of the amount paid for the "percentage" component, for 10% this load was slightly less than 50%, and only for the remaining 10% the additional markups were less than 30% of the final purchase price . ^[2]
• The structure of the cost of goods and services changes significantly. Often, it includes the symbolic price for a “ trademark ” ( brand ), when the goods of “well-known” firms can cost much more than their no different counterparts.
• The pace of fashion change is accelerating. Things depreciate and age faster than they physically wear out. A systematic change of one generation of things by another is introduced. In a consumer society, a person who is “behind fashion” feels symbolically poor.
• Education, primarily higher education, is becoming a paid market service acquired on a massive scale.
• Physical education and sports go through the process of commercialization. Professional sports clubs are becoming producers of spectacles and buyers of athletes. Access to physical education is becoming a market service.
• There is a commercial standardization of appearance. The so-called "beauty industry" appears. As one example: the widespread use of anti-aging procedures and plastic surgeries.

Among sociologists and public figures there are many supporters of the consumer and consumer society. Their main points are:

• Consumption contributes to a good and responsible government that fosters the long-term social stability necessary for society.
• In a consumer society, manufacturers have an incentive to improve and create new goods and services, which contributes to overall progress.
• High consumer standards are an incentive for making money and, as a result, hard work, long studies, and advanced training.
• Consumption helps to reduce social tension.
• Consumer motives soften national and religious prejudices, which helps reduce extremism and increase tolerance. In addition, a person in a consumer society is generally less risk averse.
• Consumption of raw materials and goods from the countries of the "third world" contributes to their development.

• Consumer society makes a person dependent, non-independent.
• The main goal of the individual is consumption, and hard work, study, advanced training are only a side effect.
• The basis of a consumer society is natural resources, most of which are irreplaceable.
• A consumer society exists exclusively in highly developed countries, while third world countries are used as a raw materials appendage and a supplier of cheap labor.
• In a consumer society, acceleration of processes is encouraged. Including accelerated negative, destructive processes.
• In a consumer society, the legal liability of an individual is reduced. So, for example, sanctions can be imposed only on the producer, but not on the consumer of goods that were polluted during the production of environmental emissions from factory emissions. The consumer will only pay a higher price, but will not be considered a violator of the law or the customer of a criminal act.
• Duality of the development process. For the functioning of a consumer society, only a thin layer of people providing progress is enough. They are subject to increased requirements. The rest, most of society is committed to ensuring the smooth operation of technology. Requirements for such people are reduced.
• The moral values ​​of a consumer society deny the need for comprehensive mental, moral and spiritual development of man. This leads to fooling people, their degradation as individuals, the decline of mass culture. In addition, it simplifies the manipulation of consciousness , since dark, ignorant people are very easy to fool . Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Arnold wrote :

American colleagues explained to me that the low level of general culture and school education in their country is a conscious achievement for economic purposes . The fact is that, having read books, an educated person becomes the worst buyer: he buys less washing machines and cars, begins to prefer Mozart or Van Gogh , Shakespeare or theorems to them. The economy of the consumer society suffers from this, and, above all, the income of the owners of life - and they strive to prevent culture and education (which, in addition, prevent them from manipulating the population as a herd deprived of intelligence) ^[3] .

• Many religious organizations officially condemn the ideals of a consumer society, motivating them to disagree with religious dogmas and destroy a person’s mental and physical state by passions. In particular, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Cyril, argued this position with the following arguments:

Ordinary people buy a thing - and rejoice. And rampant consumption takes away this joy ... A man steals himself. If the whole society embarks on the path of such rampant consumption, then our land, its resources will not stand it! It has already been proven that if the average level of consumption is the same as in the USA, then the basic resources will be enough for only 40-50 years. God did not give us the resources to all live this way. And if everyone cannot live like that - what do these colossal property imbalances mean?

- “Patriarch Kirill:“ I came as a pilgrim ”” , the newspaper Arguments and Facts in Ukraine No. 32 (677) from 08/05/2009

Consumer society in the post-Soviet period in Russia. According to Rossiyskaya Biznes-Gazeta, an analysis of the last five years shows a consistently high pace of development of the Russian consumer market - 10-15% growth annually. Even the negative impact of inflationary processes does not stop the tendency that has emerged since 2000 into the transformation of Russia into a post-industrial consumer society ^[4] .

The financial crisis of 2008-2009 in Russia slowed down the pace of development of a consumer society.

According to the information of the Central Bank, in 2004-2005 in Russia there was a tendency to exceed the growth rate of consumer incomes in terms of growth in consumer spending. . Bank of Russia specialists are sure that consumer lending is to blame for this, which is developing at a rapid pace and is changing the psychology of Russians, stimulating consumption.

Veschism is an addiction to things, material values ​​to the detriment of spiritual values. The term was mainly used in the USSR, where the prestige of things was often determined not by cost but by scarcity - accordingly, many people were concerned about their "getting".

Affluenza is a term made up of the words influenza ( flu ) and affluence ( wealth ). It refers to the “epidemic” of excessive labor (for example, when a person earns extra money in addition to his main job), growing consumer debt and constant concern about his financial situation.

In the subgenre of science fiction literature utilpunk attitude to things is determined not by monetary value, but by functionality and accessibility to alteration. Utilpunk depicts a polarized world where false dreams of a bright future are often built at the expense of the most destitute and powerless against the backdrop of the crisis and the depletion of the Earth ^{[5] [6] [7]} .

• 2012-2013 A Brief History of Consumption / Une petite histoire de la consommation (dir. Rebecca Boulanger / Rébecca Boulanger, Frank Sanson / Franck Sanson, Andrea Bergala / Andréa Bergala, Malik Tiaiba / Malick Tiaiba)
• 2002 The Century of the Self /

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• Limonov, E.V. Disciplinary sanatorium. - SPb. : Amphora, 2002. - ISBN 5-94278-320-9 .

• Kondratyev K. Ya. Modern Consumer Society and its Environmental Constraints // Energy. - 2005. - No. 10 . - S. 60-66 . Archived on April 30, 2007.
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• Is there a future for consumer society? Lecture of Peter Mostovoy with Polit.ru