Cosumerism

Consumerism is the equating of personal happiness with the purchasing of material possessions and consumptions. On the one hand, consumerism can help to develop the manufacturing industry as well as to reduce unemployment. But on the other, it only leads to personal short- term satisfaction and to environmental damages.

One of the main advantages of consumerism is that it stimulates the manufacturing industry. Manufactures are responsible for satisfying consumers’ desires for material possessions. Therefore, the more products people buy, the more products factories produce. Another benefit of consumerism is that it creates opportunities for those in need of employment. The insatiable demand for industrial products evidenced in today’s society implies that more staff is recruited by industries.

However, the main drawback of consumerism is that it leads to short- term happiness. For western society members, material objects prove to be an escape from issues of the real word. It seems as if compulsive buying was the solution to job, family or personal dissatisfaction. The problem is that people fail to recognize that this feeling of completeness is only temporary.

Critics to consumerism point out that consumerist societies are more prone to damage the environment, to contribute to climate change and to use up resources at a higher rate than other societies. For example, in 2002, a person in the United States used ten times more energy than a person in China and over twenty five times more than someone in China.

Consumerism can have both beneficial and harmful effects on society. It can have economic benefits on industries and on those who are in need of a job. However, it can damage both our mental health and our physical environment. If we continue to think that a feeling of well-being is dependent upon what we have, we will be encouraged to become, as Peter Russell points out: “human havings rather than human beings”.

Are zoos the right places for animals?

Zoos have not only been important sources of recreation in modern times, but they have been a part of human culture for thousands of years. What began as places of entertainment for certain privileged individuals have become places of recreation, education and research for everyone. However, it has been recently found that in zoos the oldest animals are being sold and killed and that these institutions also supply animals for laboratory experiments.

One of the main purposes of zoos is to entertain people. Amusement was certainly an important reason for the establishment of the earliest zoos, and it remains an important function of contemporary zoos as well. Most people visit zoos in order to spend an enjoyable time and any zoo that wishes to remain financially sound must cater to this desire.


On the other hand, zoos also have a negative side. It was found that they supply animals for experiments in laboratories In 1990, a zoo research institute was party to experiments on primates and wallabies. An experiment was carried out on marmoset monkeys in which their sense of smell was destroyed using surgical burning and chemical techniques. The object of the research was to discover whether the breeding rates of the monkeys improved.

Another bad aspect of zoo is that they sell and kill surplus animals. Some animals breed well in captivity and their babies are always appealing; but what happens to them when they get older? The biggest and oldest animals in zoos, such as lions and waterbuck, have simply been destroyed. Other animals may be disposed to the pet trade.

Are zoos exploiting animals for their own profit? Are they prisons for wild animals? Although providing amusement for people is viewed by the general public as a very important function of zoos, it is hard to see how providing such amusement could possibly justify keeping wild animals in captivity.