Consumerism In The Industrial Revolution

Our age has witnessed a rapid economic growth accompanied by surging consumer demand and mass production ever since about two hundred years ago during the first industrial revolution. Technological productivity highly increases, and so does the extraction of resources, production of goods and services, and consumption of various newly-developed products. Then here comes the time when consumerism begins on the stage of history--coming across the rusty old age of past desires for simplicity, it rather concentrates on “the chronic purchasing of goods and services, with little attention to their true need, durability, product origin or the environmental consequences of manufacture and disposal,” bringing about benefits as well as challenges (Verdant).

Previously before the industrial revolution, spending on luxury goods by the public was typically viewed as unnecessary and wasteful while the wealthy elite could indulge their most extravagant taste. This was even vividly depicted in the metropolis of Babylon back in several centuries before our era: King Darius built his palace with high quality silver from Egypt, cedar from Lebanon, fine gold from Bactria, and ivory from India, in sharp contrast to modest little buildings of the commons (Frankopan). Mass consumption was only limited to higher social class for a long period of time due to resource scarcity and elites’ wants to separate themselves from the commons (Shah). However, things changed in eighteenth century as colonization brought enormous wealth to capitalist countries such as Britain and other parts of Europe, which further triggered industrialization. According to Richard Robbins, Professor of Anthropology at University of State New York, changing wealth-producing process and capitalist order affected consumption: “For the capitalistic mode of production to exist, the tie between producers and means of production must be cut......Thus the severing of the persons from the means of production turns them not only into laborers, but into consumers of the products of their labor as well.” (Robins)

Even though all lipsticks are used as same function and may seem alike, women are still craving for lipsticks, which can be represented by a modified saying: “she who dies with the most lipsticks wins.” They consume lipsticks of different brands and different colors, filling their bags with Mac and YSL and NARS and Bobbie Brown and Tom Ford. A lipstick of one color is never enough, but it has to be a lot. The logic behind this is simple: in order to maximize sales, cosmetics companies have redifined the meaning of beauty and fashion, and spent huge amount of money on advertising to make people believe that they look best when putting cosmetics