The Pros and Cons of Consumerism

Consumerism is something that everyone is part of, nobody is excluded. It brings us great things like cars, computers, food, even this paper, and the ink of these words. There are many comforts and conveniences that consumerism brings, even things taken for granted such as the widespread availability of knowledge. However, many subtle inconveniences are making themselves ever more apparent in this age. Things that could pose very serious problems to our social outlook on life, such as global warming, which itself has the potential to upset life. Greed is an emotion that's essential to consumerism. It defines character, but can have a very negative impact when taken too far, especially by wealthy people who have power.
Living in a world of consumerism is a very easy world to live in. As long as one does as they are instructed, they can survive. One has the convenience to just walk down the road to a local store, and there, have access to and choose from the many different products, in a comfortable environment. Many take that convenience for granted, but not too long ago; it would have taken all day, just to get to that store.
The convenience of knowledge is another great thing that consumerism gives. Especially in the last 50 years, the advance of technology has given anyone interested a way of learning practically anything about the world. This knowledge could be shared through free public schooling, television, books, newspapers, magazines, and many other types of media. Within the last 15 years, computer technology has made it possible to share information instantly, and globally, for a very small price.
There have been many great innovations in the history of consumerism, and they continue to come, even quicker than ever in this modern era. Innovations speed up the economy, making it run more effectively. Perhaps the greatest innovation of all, the gas powered engine, has made traveling a breeze in our daily lives. Products and people can now travel hundreds, perhaps even thousands of kilometers before reaching their final destination. Before the internal combustion engine, it may have taken days, weeks, sometimes even months to travel a similar distance.
With all the great products to enjoy that consumerism has brought, it is often difficult to understand how consumerism is overwhelming the natural earth. Global warming is a very large concern of many people. Although some consider global warming to be a myth, scientific studies continue to point with approximately 90% sureness that global warming is a factor caused by man, and it will get worse, unless there is a world wide effort to prevent such things from happening.
Things are a lot less certain in this modern world, it is more common for people to go through multiple careers in a lifetime, multiple homes, and it is now socially acceptable to have more then one wife. People are more prone to injury in their daily lives because of technology. 2.9 million people in the United States were injured due to automotive accidents in one year. Every 13 minutes another person is killed in a car crash in the United States alone.
With over 6 billion people on the planet, most of which live in urban areas, personal space is almost non existent, although the primitive territorial instinct remains. Because there's not much space, people can see what their peers are doing, and jealousy runs ramped. People work extra hard just so they can have something their neighbor doesn't. Then the same thing happens with the neighbor, in an endless cycle, just to satisfy their jealousy. These battles can happen with anyone, from the lowest classes of society, to the monopolizing cooperation's that have the money and resources to quite literally run a nation.
To supply such a demanding market in North America, resources are taken from other parts of the globe. Cooperation's have learned exactly how to get those resources for almost nothing, yet still keep the citizens of that country content for the time being. It creates a sense of global equality, but in reality it does the exact opposite. Cooperation's pay very little for their stock, and then sell it for astronomical figures in countries that can afford the product. Kona Bikes manufacture their bikes in Korea, and China, even though they are shipped, and sold mainly to North Americans, and Europeans.
Consumerism strips away personal ethics, puts people into uncomfortable situations daily, and takes advantage of all life around it. It has brought us unsolvable questions, such as the meaning of life in itself. I ask why we continue to go down this road, after seeing all the devastating effects we have had on nature. Dinosaurs lived for millions of years without having to worry about any of this. As humans, just 30,000 years after we have been born onto this world, there have been major concerns to how much longer we will last because of the greed within consumerism.

so how'd ya like that? lol any good?

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I am somwhere where I dont know where I am!

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you have too much time on your hands
its good

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lol only took about 5-6 hours of concentration lol :p

thanks :p lol just handed it in yesterday.. lol lookin forward to the teachers comments..

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I am somwhere where I dont know where I am!