Consumerism Culture

             Consumption is the selection of goods and services which is purchase, use reuse and or disposal. The concept of consumption is more than the goods it's about the ideas, services and knowledge such as, places, shopping, eating, fashion etc... which can all be consumed. In modern day society, consumerism is built on the concept of freedom which has been engrained into the culture and socialzation processes of western nations and individuals are not free from the limit that a capitalist economic system places on the members of its society.

             Today’s society has evolved into a complex system where culture is the dominant economic structure; however today society is highly stratified and could be viewed as a less important factor in determining where each person lies within the class system as there are different classes of people. Therefore most people do not feel the effects that capitalism has on their daily activities. By capitalism creating more diverse class systems people have the potential to move progressively higher on the ladder and with each step move farther away from the detrimental effects that capitalism can have on lower classes. Culture has created this notion of free will where people have the tools and the ability to advance themselves within the system by climbing the ladder of success. "We make use of products in certain ways and thus give it significance, meaning and value in cultural life." (du Gay, 1997, pg 17) With each step individuals become distanced from the detrimental consequences of capitalism, and become the class that has the capability to subordinate the lower class. Within a capitalist system, the structure of the system itself promotes the idea of freedom to all people as this system can only function within the realm of free choice. Although, the ideas of freedom, liberty, and independence are endorsed by capitalist economies, individuals are not truly free; rather people are coerced into believing and acting out mainstream ideas of freedom. People, therefore are chained to the ideologies of cultural identity, and are not only exploited by the owners that employ them, but they exploit themselves by participating in the consumption of material goods.