Consumer Society: A Throw Away Society
Essay plan: Explore the claim that a consumer society is always a ‘throw-away’ society
Introduction
Introduce how the essay will be laid out and put forward the topics which will be covered in the essay.
Where disposable income comes from
Looking at where disposable income comes from in ONS statistics and evidence.
New types of consumption - Veblen’s and Susman’s concepts
Using concepts to demonstrate how attitudes to consumption have changed and how these changes have been described by Veblen and Susman.
The growth of purchasing power and opportunities to spend
This section discusses how people have more opportunities to spend their disposable income
Waste
This section discusses the rise in waste due to lifestyle changes and also due to differing attitudes to consumption. Also discusses the Thompson theory which helps to understand the value of rubbish beyond cash value. It also looks at the effects of zero value waste.
Conclusion
The conclusion shows that changes in consumption and higher turnover of products means there is more waste. However it also argues that the value of waste needs to be approached differently.
Explore the claim that a consumer society is always a ‘throw-away’ society
Introduction
Consumer society is a social economic form of buying and selling goods and services. In order to explore the way in which this type of system may lead to unsustainable consumption and a high degree of wastefulness, I will first suggest looking at where disposable income comes from. Secondly, I will demonstrate both Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption and Susman’s concept of people taking on the role of ‘performers’ and developing a new approach to consumption beyond simple need. This will be followed by a discussion of how a rise in affluence along with the dominance of monopoly supermarkets has significantly contributed to the increase of mass consumption in consumer society. Finally, I will discuss how the increase in purchasing power
Introduction
Introduce how the essay will be laid out and put forward the topics which will be covered in the essay.
Where disposable income comes from
Looking at where disposable income comes from in ONS statistics and evidence.
New types of consumption - Veblen’s and Susman’s concepts
Using concepts to demonstrate how attitudes to consumption have changed and how these changes have been described by Veblen and Susman.
The growth of purchasing power and opportunities to spend
This section discusses how people have more opportunities to spend their disposable income
Waste
This section discusses the rise in waste due to lifestyle changes and also due to differing attitudes to consumption. Also discusses the Thompson theory which helps to understand the value of rubbish beyond cash value. It also looks at the effects of zero value waste.
Conclusion
The conclusion shows that changes in consumption and higher turnover of products means there is more waste. However it also argues that the value of waste needs to be approached differently.
Explore the claim that a consumer society is always a ‘throw-away’ society
Introduction
Consumer society is a social economic form of buying and selling goods and services. In order to explore the way in which this type of system may lead to unsustainable consumption and a high degree of wastefulness, I will first suggest looking at where disposable income comes from. Secondly, I will demonstrate both Veblen’s concept of conspicuous consumption and Susman’s concept of people taking on the role of ‘performers’ and developing a new approach to consumption beyond simple need. This will be followed by a discussion of how a rise in affluence along with the dominance of monopoly supermarkets has significantly contributed to the increase of mass consumption in consumer society. Finally, I will discuss how the increase in purchasing power