CONSUMERISM

                                                           

  Consumerism is a concept that is very widespread today. Consumerism, in general, is a situation in which there are developed industrial societies where many goods are bought and sold. Through the industrial revolutions, this concept has become even more widespread. (Cambridge Dictionary, 2022) First of all, 18.century. mechanical production was achieved with the industrial revolution that took place. Then 19-20.with the revolution that took place in the centuries, mass production became possible. Nowadays, with the development of technology and the effect of mechanization, overproduction has become possible. (Schwab, 2016) The overproduction that took place with these industrial revolutions, on the other hand, led to an increase in consumerism. It has also become widespread with increasing mass welfare and mass media. (Heywood, 2013) In this article we will examine consumerism in detail.

  In the first place, consumerism emerges as a social phenomenon in which the acquisition and consumption of material assets for personal happiness is equated with the acquisition and consumption. It has improved with new advertising and marketing techniques. Consumer societies emphasize materialism, hedonism. On the other hand, productive societies emphasize discipline, hard work and work ethic, etc. (Heywood, 2013) The concept of consumption is the state of using something. Production, on the contrary, is the state of processing and growing goods to be sold. (Cambridge Dictionary, 2022) Consumption occurs at the end of the production process. However, today production is gradually decreasing and consumption is increasing under the influence of increasing capitalism (Aslan, 2022). This has also revealed the consumer society. (Duman, 2016) The emergence of consumer society began with the change in the relationship of consumerism with the object. In this society now people are getting their daily needs while at the same time increasing shopping malls etc. thanks to the places, they have also started to buy products that form concepts with each other. (Baudrillard, 1970) At the same time, in consumer societies, not only objects but also thoughts have become the subject of consumption. The aim here is to try to satisfy the consumer. Desires that do not reach satisfaction are the biggest factor that sustains the consumer society. With this capitalist system, increasing consumption has ensured that the productive and revolutionary characteristics of mass culture have been lost. This lost culture has been filled with consumption. This has led to the emergence of consumer culture. People now see consumption as the solution to everything. (Duman, 2016) For example, an individual who feels bad thinks that he will be happy when he shops, but after doing so, this behavior makes him happy for a short time, and then the individual wants to shop again. In this way, in consumerism, individuals have now become the most loyal members of the consumer culture. (Duman, 2016)

One of the concepts that we encounter in consumerism is political consumerism. Political consumerism is a not very old concept. This concept represents the actions of individuals who choose between manufacturers and products to change dangerous corporate or market practices. The individual who makes the choices makes positive or negative evaluations depending on issues such as personal and family well-being, fairness, justice. These evaluations are ethical and political. (Micheletti, 2003) Consumers make these evaluations and decide whether to buy the products or not. They avoid buying products and brands that do not fit them. This is called a boycott. Now more and more consumers have started boycotting products for ethical, environmental, social and political reasons and not buying them. (Balsiger, 2013) For instance, the recently released video of Ralph the Rabbit. This video is an animation published to emphasize that some cosmetic products are tested on animals during the production stage. Based on this video, animal lovers have decided not to shop from these companies by boycotting these companies that experiment on animals anymore. We can also see political consumerism as individual political participation. Because now consumers have started to take into account the politics behind products or brands when buying products. One of the reasons for the increase of this situation is the ease of access to information with the developing technology age. (Balsiger, 2013) The first example of political consumerism was in 1878, when Irish workers protested the Captain Charles Cunningham Boycott because they did not want to work on their own land. (Redpath, 1881) However, political consumerism was first used in the Shell boycott in Denmark in 1990. (Micheletti, 2003) In 2000, ethical shopping became widespread in Europe. Ethical and political consumerism was on the rise, and consumerism became increasingly politicized. (Christensen, T., Sigrid, D. ve Morten, M. R., 2007)

  As it was previously stated, consumerism has increased to the present day, even if it does not have an ancient history. The biggest reason for this is the developing technology, modern capitalism, etc. Now individuals always feel the need to consume. They began to think that all their troubles would end with consumption. With increasing consumption, consumerism has differentiated and political consumerism has emerged. This consumerism has given consumers the ability to freely choose and boycott products or brands that do not fit their assessment. This situation has now become a political participation. Micheletti says " Political consumerism is a non-traditional form of participation.”

REFERANCES

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Christensen, T., Sigrid, D. ve Morten, M. R. (2007). Food safety and the reversed political consumer. The Nordic Consumer Policy Research Conference, (s. 1296-1302). Helsinki.

Duman, Z. (2016). Tüketimci Kapitalizmi ve Tüketim Kültürü. Sosyoloji Dergisi, 15-36.

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Mehmet Cançelik, Fazıl Kırkbir. (2020, 7 24). Siyasal Tüketicilik: Türk Tüketicileri Üzerine Uygulama. Erciyes İletişim Dergisi, 1481-1499.

Micheletti, M. (2003). Political virtue and shopping: Individuals, consumers, and collective action. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Redpath, J. (1881). Talks about Ireland. (Mehmet Cançelik ve Fazıl Kırkbir makalesinden yararlanılmıştır.)

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