Rise in Consumerism and its Impact on Sustainable Development

Consumption is the function of disposable income. Consumption contributes a lot to the investment of any country. Consumption in a country depends on the marginal propensity to consume (MPC), Veblen effect, Snob effect, Bandwagon effect, Short sight of the consumer, etc. Keeping this in mind, producers produce those goods and services which can provide satisfaction to the consumers. Advertisement and marketing has become the lifeline of today’s market structure which psychologically attracts the consumer so much that the consumer purchases goods and services without wanting them. Due to this ecological and social problems start in the society. This is where consumerism begins. America’s great economist Professor Thorstein Veblen first spoke on the subject of consumerism which was based on conspicuous consumption. The problem of rising consumerism today is resulting in the reckless use of limited resources bestowed to us by mothernature. Since resources are limited, the excessive use of resources will lead to the exhaustion of non-renewable resources very quickly. Even it will be difficult, if not impossible, to compensate for the loss of renewable resources so fast. Today our greed and irresponsible behavior is the basic reason for all environmental issues and problems be it global warming, deforestation, pollution, or the issue of sustainability. This paper will highlight in detail how rising consumerism has led to many environmental issues and how simple living and high thinking can be the answer to sustainability.