ћарина ≈встафьева

Human Values in the Age of Consumerism

From the very beginning it is important to emphasize the difference between core values, such as love, friendship, life, freedom, safety, etc. and things that are valued just due to fashion (possessing things such as cars, computers, etc.).

Core values cannot be changed: they are important at all ages and in all civilizations. A vivid example can be seen in the pyramid of values by Maslow, in which he gave a list of manТs priorities. Life has changed greatly since the time it was created, but this hierarchy is still used in science. Instead of value, which is permanent, it is the attitude to it and the way of achieving it that can be changed greatly in accordance to contemporary social circumstances.

Historically, every society, even the tiniest one, had its own attitude to core values. This attitude usually depended on such characteristics as the age of people, their social status and their range of interests.

However, each period of time had its own preferences. Antique society valued harmony within a person. In medieval society, religion was a main source of values and the means of their explanation. During soviet times Ц being a УproperФ citizen of a soviet country was of the highest value. Of course, these characteristics are not exhaustive; they just show a few key priorities.

That does not mean that core values were changed. It can be vividly seen in an example of understanding love in different epochs. In an antique society love to a human being was due to the philosophy that a man is the highest point of the development of the Nature. In Middle Ages this love was in defiance of sinful mans nature just because one was the creature of the God. In soviet philosophy human being is again on the peak of evolution but now instead of the antique harmony man is becoming a master, nature is not anymore a teacher but just a workshop.

Following this logic, what can be highlighted as the core value in a contemporary society in the context of globalization?

Our world is permanently changing, speaking about it we cannot do without taking into consideration the great influence of Western culture. Its main characteristics are extensive development, individualism and the great role of private property. All these preferences have come from Middle Ages. Protestantism encouraged being successful during life itself, while Catholicism and Orthodox Christianity condemned the idea of making money as a main reason that prevented people from getting into heaven. The times of religious societies have passed, but during that period the dissimilarity between the so-called Western and Eastern ways of thinking and differences in our mentalities were deepened. We have the same values, but the attitudes to them are sometimes quite opposite. I think that is one of the main reasons why it is so difficult for Russia to become a society of consumers (not only because of economical problems).

Living in the age of consumerism means looking at the same values from a new angle. Today money is the main indicator of whether a person is successful or not. Success here includes not only the sphere of business, but also the concept of happiness. This can be easily proved with the help of ads and commercials, where achieving such values as health, love, friendship and success is directly associated with buying certain goods. The logic is simple: if you buy this toothpaste, your smile becomes nice; if your smile is nice, you start smiling more often; as a result, more people pay attention to you and you find new friends. All these logical chains in the society of consumers begin with a verb Уto buyФ.

While working in the USA, I realized that for Americans being a consumer sometimes means even more than just being an individual. First of all one should fit certain standards and only after it show that he differs somehow from the other people, in most cases these differences are highlighted by strengthen qualities from the list of standards. Maybe I am exaggerating, but from childhood Americans are taught how to be УproperФ customers. Advertising for children usually aims at two main effects: 1) making parents buy anything their beloved child would ask for (in most cases to prove that they really love him/her and that they are really good parents), 2) bringing up new generation of customers, who knows and follows all the laws of the consumer society. Today it is a part of American culture. Being a consumer means being a person that can afford to buy things that can make one happy; of course, a thing itself cannot do that, but when you are told every day that all your problems just because of a lack of this certain thing, you start to associate it with a personal quality you can obtain. This strategy works, making people buy more and more useless things just because they think it is the easiest way to achieve desirable aims and keep certain values.

It was very surprising to see that 80% of people I met (in cities and towns) were keen on shopping (even men). In my country it is mostly a feminine preference. Men are silently suffering while shopping. In the USA it is casual to spend weekends doing shopping. Thanks to Mass Media shopping now is not just buying things you need, but a hobby, means to cure depression, way of life. Another peculiarity of Western consumerism is that all holidays acquired character of grandiose sale. It is normal that everything becomes orange a month before Halloween. If one has not BOUGHT presents and special decorations, he cannot properly celebrate the holiday.

The value of being successful in the consumer society has become a central one. As a result the majority needs to be flourishing in the sphere of business and only then doing well in family life and friendship. Following this logic it is not surprising that people have started to get married at later ages. They prefer to devote their Уbest yearsФ to business and a career than to love and family. Never before I have met so many workaholics as during this summer. After the first in my life 15hour working day I realized that it was the air of the country and the system of overtime payments. In the USA working is a natural way of earning money that means in this context achieving happiness. Does not matter that sometimes people simply do not have time to the happiness itself. Nevertheless we cannot deny the significance of family and loving people for the modern person. Each of us needs care and love, but today we prove that we are worth them not because we are in harmony with nature or we are religious enough, but because we are able to earn enough money to give a happy well-provided life to the people we love.

Nothing is new in this world: from epoch to epoch, in all religions and societies always do exist reference points, standards or just examples how to live properly to become happy (in ideal not only during the life but also after the death). Core values play the role of foundation. In the epoch of consumerism we are chasing the same ideals of love, friendship, freedom, happiness, etc. just as people centuries and centuries ago. These pathetic concepts like stars show us the right way in the life; they are the same for people of the West and the East. The only difference is the angle we are looking at them.