Consumerism to Minimalism - Breaking the Cycle and Addiction to Consumerism

By S.M. Mitchell

Excessive consumerism has devastating effects on the environment, causes individual servitude to personal debt, forces the individual to work themselves to utter exhaustion, and depletes the mental and physical health of a nation's people.
How did this obsession with shopping start? Why do we do it? Is there a way to change/stop the astronomical problems we, ourselves, have created and continue to perpetrate?
All of these questions, and more, will be answered in "Consumerism to Minimalism." Changing habits and thought processes, while working towards a more minimalist and meaningful lifestyle, is our best chance at healing the environment, getting out of debt, working less and enjoying life more, and regaining our mental and physical health.
The rewards of challenging yourself will be astounding.

• Language: English
• Publisher: S.M. Mitchell
• Release date: Jun 8, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201525378

Book preview

Introduction

Whether the issue of concern be the continuous damage and depletion of the environment and natural resources, excessive and uncontrolled debt, or being overworked to the point of utter exhaustion, the root of the issue is almost always excessive consumerism.  Greed, mental issues that lead us to seek a source for relief, and clever and devious advertising techniques push the ever-increasing levels of consumerism even higher. 

We are depleting the world’s natural resources at a level that is unsustainable and we are polluting our planet to levels that are making us sick.  Industrialized nations are the highest consumers, and the waste from that consumption is affecting third-world nations under the guise of second-hand goods and sweatshops. 

The average debt in American households is staggering and unsustainable, especially considering the stagnant and low wages that have been prevalent over the past 50 years.  The amount of savings per person and household will not cover even the smallest emergency, leaving individuals and families in a desperate situation if their car tires wear out. 

Workers in the United States are subjected and fall into the cult of work, believing that working themselves to a point of exhaustion is admirable and noteworthy.  More and more households have both parents working, leaving less and less time for family and leisurely activities.  Being in an environment where your job expects you to be on call 24/7, and technology allowing them to contact you 24/7, leaves little-to-no time to recharge. 

Yes, companies and their ever-evident greed hold a great part of the blame for these issues.  But over the last few decades, it is obvious that so-called green efforts by large corporations are not enough (if they are helping at all).  So, what are we left to do?  We, as consumers, need to put our money where our mouth is ... or rather, not put our money there at all.  If we don’t support corporations with our dollars, we are helping our environment, reducing our debt, and moving towards a more sustainable work level.  Those actions alone would have enormous effects and would also force corporations to take a second look into their practices.  Either way, controlling our own spending would have an enormously beneficial effect for us as individuals.     

Consumerism

Capitalist America may be the most efficient and most productive nation in the world, but it extracts a high human cost.  ...  Consumption seduces us into believing that we can find security and certainty in an otherwise uncertain and meaningless world.  We think we can spend our way into a never-ending self-actualization, without paying any psychological dues for our life of unrestrained pleasure.

~ Thomas Naylor, Author of Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epidemic

Concepts of Capitalism

Adam Smith’s book (published in 1776), The Wealth of Nations, describes the great societal benefits that come with a capitalist economy.  By creating an economy that allows the division of labor (in production and outside of it) and a free market and free trade with little government interference, an individual’s self-interest will produce profit and social welfare.[1]

A person’s self interest lies in their desire for self-preservation.  Self-preservation requires the basic necessities of food, shelter, clothing, to name a few.  Their self-interest also includes their desires and wants.  A person wants and desires security, safety, and comfort items beyond the necessities.  Most people also desire and want wealth. 

In their aim to satisfy their self-interest, in a capitalist economy, an individual will provide a good or service to another person in exchange for money or goods (free trade).  In order to receive that good or serve, the second person must provide goods or services to another individual(s), and a cycle is born.  This cycle produces specialization and division of labor.  According to Smith, this cycle of free trade will produce profit for the individuals involved and "results in a web of mutual interdependencies that promote stability