The Creation Of Discontent And In Defense Of Consumerism

Ever since the beginning of the industrial era, consumerism has been rapidly expanding and transforming Americans’ standards of living. As a result, a growing pattern of materialism has become evident throughout American society. In the opposing articles, “The Creation of Discontent” and “In Defense of Consumerism,” authors Juliet Schor and Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. discuss the benefits and consequences of increased consumption. Consumerism’s positive effects on daily life are outweighed by the devastating effects it has on the poverty-stricken population and the environment. A main problem concerning a consumer-based economy is the massive impact it has on the world’s resources. The United States economy will not perpetually grow, as many economists have suggested (Schor 634). Instead, it is likely that Americans’ habits of materialism will cause a complete economic gridlock when heavily used resources are no longer available. An excerpt from a 1998 UN Human

It is a well-known fact that the environmental degradation that a material-oriented society causes is a serious problem, yet this issue is largely ignored. In a Priority Products and Materials Report by Norwegian University of Science and Technology professor, Edgar G. Hertwich, it is stated that environmental impacts of consumerism come from both an overuse of natural resources and a sharp increase in harmful emissions. (Hertwich 10). These impacts include climate change due to unregulated greenhouse gas emissions, over fertilization as a result of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, and eventual depletion of all organic resources (Hertwich 10). Consumerism relies heavily on non-renewable resources, and unless alternate resources are