A preoccupation with the acquisition of goods and commodities is often called “consumerism” in the modern period. In earlier times, it h ad negative connotations. This implied a lack of discretion among “buyers” and “consumers” regarding what goods to buy and why to buy them in an increasingly commercialized atmosphere. Consumerism is linked with the growth of industrial capitalism in Europe from the 18th century. Later, it spread at the global level and was accompanied by economies of scale and increases in production and productivity. These increases were sustained by growth in demand. Further, the improvements in technology and extensive use of the division of labour enabled manufacturers to produce on a large scale for wants, needs and fashions. Apart from this, commercialization of leisure and the penetration by innovative manufacturers, of religious practices, public health, and education reinforced the habits of acquisition and increasing consumption.
Some believe that the regular use of commercial methods to make goods desirable encouraged an obsession with purchase and consumption. As a result, there would be consumerism or the near-compulsive concern with consumption. Moreover, the manufacturer’s concern with mass consumption led to a decline in interest in quality, ensuring that consumerism bred so-called “mass culture.” Thus, consumerism could also lead to poor management of household budgets and impoverishment also. We find that this perspective encouraged a critical approach on the character of consumption under industrial capitalism – and the attempt to avoid indiscriminate consumption under socialist industrialization. Finally, consumption came to be associated with citizenship, since it was connected with social status and politics. It may be noted that the popularity of the critique has consequently varied considerably. In recent times, the studies on “material culture” and “material politics” have firmly established that whatever the value of the critical appraisal of consumerism, manufacturers’ practice and consumer experience cannot be easily straitjacketed in the present circumstances.
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