Corporate and Collaborate Consumerism

The citizens of the United States of America are known for their strong sense of freedom. Take that freedom away, and there would be a prodigious riot that traverses across the country. However, the same freedom that Americans thrive on, are slowly poisoning the minds of the masses. Consumerism is the name; the plan is to slowly take over the population, and it has. Consumerism is both beneficial and detrimental to society, and freedom would not exist without the need people have to buy new and innovative items.

Consumerism destroys most human elements in its path as it forces people to become dependent on the transitory joy of technological innovations. In Fahrenheit 451, “15 Million Merits,” and “Dover Beach,” the pursuit of materialistic ideals requires the exchange of humanity for the brief entertainment that technology provides. However, the trade also requires the consumer to become a slave to the will of media. The advertising industry simultaneously creates and feeds upon the desperation of consumers as it brainwashes people to fixate on the acquisition of goods. Objects become a measurement of success or a distraction for the absence of it. As a result, people tend to seek comfort in materials over human relationships in order to fill the

In IKEA, the Unsolicited Proposal came from many directions. Firstly, in 1952 the boycott by Swedish retailers to IKEA, obliged to IKEA to seek new sources of furniture. Second, the Swedish furniture market demand fall by the early 1970s. Third, IKEA had identified as we said before two big markets to

s. “They: are the corporations, and they want to make all the consumers buy more and more things.

As renown author, Bryant H. McGill, once stated in his piece titled “Biodynamics, Anarchy, Consumer Democracy and the Danger of Monocultures,” “the folly endless consumerism sends us on a wild goose-chase for happiness through materialism.” This quote houses much truth in the sense that consumerism births a hazardous game to play. The novel, Brave New World, written by Aldous Huxley, describes a dystopian society filled with psychological manipulation, cloning technology, and citizens with vulgar emotional detachment, all thanks to the leading force, consumerism. At a young age, the World State teaches children to buy, buy, buy. Assisting this, Henry Ford, early 20th century industrialist and creator of the assembly line, attracts worship like

The services and products offered by IKEA provide value to its customers in various ways. For one, the products and services are very affordable. The products and services are not priced highly and therefore, the average customer can enjoy them. At the same time, the products are of high quality. From IKEA’s slogan “low prices but not at any price”, it is clear that the company prices its products lowly but that does not mean that the quality is compromised. IKEA satisfying its customer’s needs through providing them value for their money as they provide quality products that will last for a long time, and at affordable costs. The fact that the company has set the minimum acceptable standards for its wood, implies that it is also keen on quality and on the environmental impact of its action of making furniture ( Edvardsson, Enquist & Hay, 2006).

“Brave New World” is a critique of society’s growing obsession with consumerism. The theme of the book is that excessive consumerism will result in the downfall of society. People living in World State society have been conditioned to believe that they need new things in order to be happy. The soma in this passage represents these new goods and how it is used to replace happiness. Mustapha Mond describes soma as being “a holiday from the facts” which is a result of excessive consumerism.

Bailey had a rather large collection of Harley t-shirts, and they had been passed on to Tuck, who was his younger brother, but Tuck claimed that he fit into the shirts like a “stuffed sausage.” Clara had been saving every penny she could, and she decided that she wanted to get Tuck a quilt made from his brother’s Harley t-shirts. Last year, she had not had nearly enough money to have the quilt made. This year, money was even tighter, and she still did not have enough money to have the quilt made, especially because she wanted it made by the best in town. The quilt would cost about $400.000, and she had to come up with the money quickly, due to Christmas being just two months away, and the quilt-maker needing time to make the quilt.

Consumerism is seen as caustic in the eyes of many. The common trend seen among copious economists is that consumerism is evil and is corrupting the people partaking. The claim that consumerism is causing a global wide drop in happiness is ludicrous. In Rockwell’s essay “In Defense of Consumerism” he claims without consumerism there is no production, and without production there are no jobs, which ultimately leads to poverty and unhappiness. Over a couple centuries life expectancy has increased by almost 30 years due to advances of medicine and the availability of modern conveniences (Rockwell 640). This is all due to the increase consumption of superfluous items. Consumerism benefits society by stimulating the economy, providing necessities, and increasing life expectancy.

First, Mark Earls, author of Designing for the Herd holds a unique perspective on the most effective approach for marketing products and services. Earls believes that despite the common belief in a society of individuality, we need to market less toward the individual and more towards the herd. In other words, “…we are a ‘We’ species laboring under the illusion of ‘I’…” (Earls, 2003, p. 312). The individual is a social creature and relies on schemas learned from others while making decisions. Thus, stressing the importance of social influence on individual attitudes and behaviors. While Earls does not specifically address the marketing of green products, this model of mass behavior is intriguing and readily could unfurl into promoting the realm of green design.

They remain loyal to the brands and products they are accustomed to buying, but reduce the frequency of their purchases and/or carefully weigh the value of products against prices. Moreover, as a new elite consumption pattern emerges in which buyers express an interest in participating in societal issues or causes, those that prefer “green luxury” - environment-friendly production and products is growing in number. Keyword 4 self-Comforting Consumption The upper-middle class is influenced by the economic downturn and reduces its spending, carefully considering purchases to avoid overspending. They tend to seek emotional compensation by buying a totally different item rather than a lower-brand version of past purchases. There is also a trend of “accessorization” in which people purchase low-priced entry products in the same brand.

“Corporations perfectly reflect our demands. We are the corporations. If corporations are evil, then evil are us” (McKeen).

By 2020, the world could develop into a myriad of different scenarios, but there is no one scenario that can accurately represent what the US, let alone the world, will become—even in four short years. The four scenarios in “Consumer’s Futures 2020” has options that could unfold, but it is unlikely in such a short timeframe. Nevertheless, the most likely of the four-presented scenarios to me is ‘sell it to me.’ This is because the scenario allows people to keep spending and minimizes the work individuals have to put into becoming more sustainable. It also marks a more prosperous, flourishing economy that enables the option to buy more selectively the brands and products that intrigue them. Lastly, this scenario utilizes the technology that we are already hyper reliant on to generate more personalized business. Many of these aspects are already occurring to some degree, but I can see them becoming more prominent over time.

IKEA’s BUSINESS IDEA (www.ikea.com): “We shall offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them."

IKEA established itself as the largest furniture retailer in Sweden by the early 1970s by reinventing the wheel of furniture manufacturing at that time. Majority of furniture manufacturers in Sweden produced expensive products with designs that were basic or passed down generation to generation, additionally other manufacturers stores where located in downtown congested areas. IKEA’s strategies which consisted of low cost low priced furniture, brave intricate designs, self-assembly,