In a nutshell, consumerism describes the growing desire and need for goods and services. The interesting thing is that all the greatest examples are around us, but not everyone realizes it. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay A striking example is the large number of convenience stores open 24/7. A few decades ago, they were practically non-existent. But because people feel the need to consume and buy until the wee hours of the morning, these stores have mushroomed all over the country, so you probably couldn't imagine life without the 7-11 on the corner of the street. Scrutiny of how people shop can also be attributed to consumerism. Before, you needed money in your pocket every time you needed to make a purchase. Then, as people felt an increased need to buy things, credit cards entered the picture. Now you can buy products and pay for services without having to use cash! But it doesn't stop there. Now you have tools like PayPal or Bitcoin that are also worth money. This evolution of payment systems clearly shows that people are finding better ways to pay more, simply because they are buying more. The consumer society became important in the 17th century and grew throughout the 18th century. Some argue that the change was driven by a growing middle class that embraced new ideas about luxury consumption. Many critics argue that consumerism was a social and economic necessity for the reproduction of capitalist competition for markets and was important for making profits. While others emphasize the growing political strength of the international working class. The more positive middle classes claimed that this revolution welcomed the growth in the construction of huge country estates primarily designed to provide maximum comfort and the increased availability of luxury goods aimed at a growing market. This included tobacco sugar, coffee and tea. These were increasingly grown on huge plantations in the Caribbean, as demand steadily increased. These trends became significantly more pronounced in the 18th century, as increasing wealth and social mobility increased the number of people with abundant income for consumption. Pottery inventor and entrepreneur Josiah Wedgwood noticed the way in which aristocratic fashions, themselves subject to periodic changes in direction, were slowly declining in society. He favored the use of marketing techniques to alter and shift the focus of dominant tastes and preferences so that products would be accepted by the wealthy. It was only a matter of time before its assets were also quickly bought up by the middle classes. Other producers began to follow his example and began to make a profit. There cannot be consumption without production. If a population consumes more than it produces, this is ultimately unsustainable. Consumption represents 70% of the American economy. One day it will collapse. Consumerist culture is not just about buying what you want. It's about convincing yourself that you need things that you don't necessarily need or want and encouraging you to spend money on those things, sometimes even when you don't have any..