Why We Consume So Much

In agricultural societies of the past, farmers were mostly self sufficient. They worked hard but consumed little. Today we consume so much that the oceans are filled with trash. What changed?

Rising Disposable Income

A great deal has happened. To begin with, rising global affluence following the Industrial Revolution put a lot more money in people's wage packets (1). The proportion of pay being spent on non essentials like food and shelter declined, leaving a surplus of “disposable income”.

This had several important consequences. Social mobility took off. Workers began using their disposable income to communicate social success and status.

This could be one reason that the bulk of disposable income is devoted to leisure activities. Of course, such activities are also pleasurable in themselves, from enjoying sunshine in a vacation spot to fine dining, or driving luxury vehicles.

In feudal societies there had been minimal social mobility and a luxurious lifestyle was the exclusive preserve of the landed elite.

This scenario changed profoundly with the rise of the middle classes following the Industrial Revolution. Some scholars argue that the lives of ordinary people in developed countries today are more luxurious in material terms than those of the most sybaritic monarchs of the past (such as Louis 16th of France) given the variety of consumer goods available (2).

The Rise of Consumerism

Social mobility preceded the steam-engine-based Industrial Revolution. Cloth manufacturers “put out” their orders, or subcontracted them, to cottage weavers. Using tallow candles that shed a bright and steady light, cotters worked night and day to fill their orders and saw a modest increase in their standard of living (3).

Due to rising wages, a person could save to buy a better home, or better furniture, or more elegant clothing. With social mobility, every person was responsible for their own station in life. Keeping up with the Joneses was born.

The period preceding the factory production of cloth is aptly named the “Industrious Revolution (3).” It was accompanied by slow but steady economic growth culminating in the modern era of cheap global shipping and runaway consumption.

When living standards rise, beneficiaries are never really content with where they are. There is always someone else who has a better home, a better car, better furniture, or sends their children to better schools, or spends more on cosmetic surgery.

Aspiring to lead a more luxurious life is a treadmill that keeps consumers in debt and constantly working harder to get where everyone else seems to be. This is a positive climate for businesses.

Media, Advertising, and Artificial Needs

The desire for more goods and services is enabled by modern communication technologies. This played out following the introduction of television to towns in the US West. The rise of petty thefts that followed was motivated by dissatisfaction of viewers with their standard of living compared to that depicted on the small screen (4). In marketing terms, demand for many consumer goods was created overnight.

The same phenomenon occurs on the Internet where users are exposed to luxurious living by celebrities around the globe. Of course, Internet shopping is the ultimate enabler for luxury goods because they are rarely more than a few clicks away.

The desire for luxurious, and status-signaling, products is a powerful motive for workers. Indeed Thorstein Veblen, an early sociologist, argued that “conspicuous consumption” is the main reason that people with money choose to spend it (5).

The carrots of consumption may well be more potent than the sticks of management in boosting work effort. Ordinary consumers today behave rather like the elites of the past with the key difference that elites don't need to work. Even the poorest segment of our society give in to cravings for luxury goods from designer watches, shoes, and sunglasses to electronic devices and cars.

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You Might Be Wrong About What Makes You Happy

Modern societies are something of a rat race where people work hard at consuming during their off time and work even harder during their hours on the job so that they can earn enough to pay their bills. The irony is that although we live like the kings of history in terms of material standard of living, we do not recognize this reality (1, 2).

The flavor of this discontent is captured in the witticism that a rising tide lifts all yachts (rather than all boats). Improvements in living conditions in developed countries are real, substantial, and historically unprecedented, although pessimists cannot accept this and focus upon the unequal distribution of wealth.

Life expectancy of US residents doubled in the 20th century, for example, but this fact is lost today in concern over the fact that rich people live longer.

We would also like their money and avarice is a cruel master. Despite having too much, we are tormented by the desire for more knowing that other people are a lot better off than we are.