Can economies grow without consumerism?

[YOSHIE]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

By living an ordinary life without being excessively stylish, such as measuring happiness and splurge or not buying excessive things, you can all experience the risk of financial difficulties.

If we look at it individually or at large in society, the economy can actually develop well without consumerism. We often see those who live without consumerism, but from an economic perspective they are actually better and superior.

[Ishicryptic]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

Production is not complete until it gets to the final consumer and it means that consumerism is profitable for the producers of the goods to be enjoyed, as long as the consumer continues to buy and make more demand it will continue to improve the economy of the producer. If you look at it from this perspective you will understand that economies will not likely grow if there is no demand or consumerism for what they supply. An alternative for an economy that cannot grow as a result of low consumerism of their product is to diversify and find other uses that can be derived from the product. Waste doesn't concern a producing economy that has a product or resources in abundance, it is demand of the consumers that determines how profitable they will become.

[wiss19]

Consumerism will always be part of a growing economy. We can't eradicate such human activity. Because without it, how can industries grow? But excessive consumption will use so much resources and most of them will just go to waste. So consumerism is vital in any economy but people should have responsible consumerism so as not to waste resources.

There are still other/many ways to earn money but only few industries will exist because there is no more reason for them to do so. To combat excessive consumption, one can just plan in advance. As a customer, they should only buy items that they can consume easily and for the sellers, they should also create or buy items that they can sell easily.

When it comes to our waste, sellers should create recyclable materials and then consumers should recycle them. It is either they will re-use the item again such as the bag or make it as a decoration in their house, to prevent from buying a new decoration again. This have other benefits too including saving money and saving the environment.

[DrBeer]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

If humanity switches to a photon diet, then probably yes, it is possible
To answer the question, let everyone answer with one word: are they ready to give up food, clothing, apartments/houses, cars, movie theaters, mobile communications, beds, personal hygiene products? That will be the true picture

We often dream and fantasize about how to make the world perfect. But to understand how good it is, just try these solutions on yourself and everything will become clear and understandable.

[Mikky02]

When we look at the society today everyone is a consumer in one way or the other we consume products daily our daily lives depends on consumption that show how consumerism can be of a great help to economic growth when the demand of products is high mostly products that are needed the most or are needed in our everyday lives and the demand becomes high it can also add to economic growth above all the stages of production consumers are the most important note being a consumer doesn't means you consume just eatable products it goes as far as other things and humans nature is based on consumption so I think it will help the growth of economy

[DrBeer]

When we look at the society today everyone is a consumer in one way or the other we consume products daily our daily lives depends on consumption that show how consumerism can be of a great help to economic growth when the demand of products is high mostly products that are needed the most or are needed in our everyday lives and the demand becomes high it can also add to economic growth above all the stages of production consumers are the most important note being a consumer doesn't means you consume just eatable products it goes as far as other things and humans nature is based on consumption so I think it will help the growth of economy

And this is critically necessary and mutually beneficial consumerism!
By purchasing goods or services from others (private entrepreneurs, farmers, companies, etc.), you give them the opportunity to earn money and... purchase your services! As a result, you will receive income and be able to provide a good quality of life for yourself.
 If this process is disrupted, no one will earn money, and everyone will be forced to ask the state for social assistance. This stops the economy and makes people poor on a massive scale!

[justdimin]

And this is critically necessary and mutually beneficial consumerism!
By purchasing goods or services from others (private entrepreneurs, farmers, companies, etc.), you give them the opportunity to earn money and... purchase your services! As a result, you will receive income and be able to provide a good quality of life for yourself.
 If this process is disrupted, no one will earn money, and everyone will be forced to ask the state for social assistance. This stops the economy and makes people poor on a massive scale!

While that is how it "should" work, todays world we see that big corporations that are getting more and more monopoly own most of the places that we shop, and in return they hire us, not they buy our product or anything like that. This means, we are forced for a fixed income by them, while have a dynamic spending on them, I can spend more than what they spend on me, and they work tirelessly to make that a reality.

Just an example, Amazon pays their people and then their workers buy from amazon in return, but amazon pays very little, which means these workers pay more on average, not to amazon only obviously, but in general spend more than salary. So when you give that power to one person, you are going to be forced to do badly.

[DrBeer]

And this is critically necessary and mutually beneficial consumerism!
By purchasing goods or services from others (private entrepreneurs, farmers, companies, etc.), you give them the opportunity to earn money and... purchase your services! As a result, you will receive income and be able to provide a good quality of life for yourself.
 If this process is disrupted, no one will earn money, and everyone will be forced to ask the state for social assistance. This stops the economy and makes people poor on a massive scale!

While that is how it "should" work, todays world we see that big corporations that are getting more and more monopoly own most of the places that we shop, and in return they hire us, not they buy our product or anything like that. This means, we are forced for a fixed income by them, while have a dynamic spending on them, I can spend more than what they spend on me, and they work tirelessly to make that a reality.

Just an example, Amazon pays their people and then their workers buy from amazon in return, but amazon pays very little, which means these workers pay more on average, not to amazon only obviously, but in general spend more than salary. So when you give that power to one person, you are going to be forced to do badly.

When hiring you, the employer buys your knowledge and experience. They pay you either for your physical labor or for your intellectual work. As a result, you partially participate in the production of goods or services produced by your employer. When they are purchased, part of the business owner's profit goes to you in the form of a salary. So, the process has not been disrupted, it has just changed slightly from more ancient times. to you in the form of a salary. So the process is not broken, it has just changed slightly since ancient times.

[AgriTrack]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

The answer is yes, economy can grow with other factors as well. If countries invest in industries, technologies, or infrastructures it creates more job opportunities, produce goods or increase exports. if domestic consumer's purchasing power is less, than focus should be on building customer from outside of the country. China and Japan are the great example of this question, their economy is reflect true picture of this concept. They have huge customer demand from all over the world. They work on Industries, promotes exports, encourage the investor that automatically strength their economy. Earning from the consumerism is a short term benefit or give little boost to the economy. Therefore,developing countries should also adopt these strategies by increasing exports, provide friendly environment to the investor, they can earn foreign currencies and achieve more sustainable economic growth.

[Findingnemo]

We consider an economy is strong when they have more GDP and still date most contributing factor to the GDP numbers is the consumption of goods and services, so yeah without consumerism, it is hard for a country to grow in numbers.

If we have to achieve that without consuming things then we need to increase our exports like Japan which is export-driven economy, but can every country do that?

[Fortify]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

We are seeing consumerism at it's most extreme now, but it can continue to keep getting worse. Businesses from car manufacturers to phone makers or even refrigerator producers, every sector you could imagine, are trying to pivot their products to be the cheapest possible but also try to defeat any kind of repairability because they want customers to come back and spend more. We have media companies who revolve around subscriptions, that is also leaking into any business that can twist it, because again they want customers to pay again and again to grab more money. It really is a trashy society and politicians should be trying to regulate the worst excesses of this corporate behavior, because ultimately we end up in a world of plastic and overflowing landfills full of crappy products.

[Scarlett_23]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

We are seeing consumerism at it's most extreme now, but it can continue to keep getting worse. Businesses from car manufacturers to phone makers or even refrigerator producers, every sector you could imagine, are trying to pivot their products to be the cheapest possible but also try to defeat any kind of repairability because they want customers to come back and spend more. We have media companies who revolve around subscriptions, that is also leaking into any business that can twist it, because again they want customers to pay again and again to grab more money. It really is a trashy society and politicians should be trying to regulate the worst excesses of this corporate behavior, because ultimately we end up in a world of plastic and overflowing landfills full of crappy products.

I agree with you on this, most companies produce their products in such a way that they are easily damaged and the buyer has to spend money for it again and again. That is, consumerism generally encourages buying products or services. In the modern era, consumption has become a fashion. When someone sees a house or good clothes or sees an expensive watch or car, others are inspired to buy them. People consider these as a matter of their identity or self-esteem. Despite its many negative qualities, there is some positivity. For example: If people do not learn to spend, they do not learn to earn. Money is needed to buy something expensive, so of course work is also needed, so people also look for work to satisfy their luxuries.

[348Judah]

In a balance economy, everything must go in line with each other, there must be the aspect of the economy productivities and also the receiving end from the consumers, just in other to create a balance through.

Running a perfect economy is not a day job, it all requires the function of all the aspect of production to be in place and also, the role of government and private sectors also contributes to how the perfect economy is running, if there are effective policies that guides the sustainability required.

[XOOMBOX]

In a balance economy, everything must go in line with each other, there must be the aspect of the economy productivities and also the receiving end from the consumers, just in other to create a balance through.

Running a perfect economy is not a day job, it all requires the function of all the aspect of production to be in place and also, the role of government and private sectors also contributes to how the perfect economy is running, if there are effective policies that guides the sustainability required.

The balance of the economy is not limited to production and consumption, and sometimes, to stable society, it is possible to maintain stability by reducing consumption. It is not always true that the economy will run well if production increases but a healthy economy is developed only when the balance between production quality, efficient use of resources and the quality of life of the people is good. Along with this, the role of the public and private sectors is also very important but if the rules are only inclined towards increasing profits then in the long run there will be a lot of social and environmental damage. For this reason, a perfect economy means a structure where the market, policy and environment as well as public welfare are also considered equally. Overall the economy is an ongoing process where sustainability depends on how we balance production, consumption and policy.

[LOVER BOY 422]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

No you are actually right, economy can't grow up without consumptions because without consuming what your are working you will not grow,so the best way a country grows is when they grow and also consume their economy,if storing it ,who are you actually storing it for ,is to use the economic value on people of the country or the state to better life .

[simonova]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

In the eyes of traditional American and western economists, no.
They directly associate consumption and production as being directly proportional with quality of life and development, in the eyes of western economies if people cannot buy work and save money, then there is no actual development, being the most important part the fact they can spend money.
In reality, government do not want people to be able to save much money, as they need people to continuously buy and waste products, as that is what keep factories always running, if you think about it.
If people save money and they decide not to spend endlessly, then there is less job creation and economy stops accelerating, that is why inflation is used to prompt people to spend and spend, since saving money with no yield would be a waste of wealth.

There is talk of things like recycle and contentment in other places but if we see the tendency there also , those people are also working daily 8-10 hours just to earn money so that they can buy more items and enjoy their life. Saying something and following it really in life are two different things.

[summonerrk]

Is there a way to achieve prosperity without endless consumption and waste? Sometimes, it looks like even consumerism is good overall or I am wrong in this assumption ?

It all depends on what you define as prosperity. Hedonism is terrible when people live to have fun and are unfettered by moral standards. There must be a balance between fun and self-restraint. Consumption is important and good. It's consumption that drives people to create new products and services that entertain, but everything must be within reasonable limits, because we must be good examples for our children.

[simonova]

because we must be good examples for our children.

Unfortunately, that is not happening at most of the places. Even the media and movies promote excess consumption.

[DrBeer]

And who among those who support the idea that “the economy can function without consumerism” can:
- describe how this would work in the real, modern world
- give an example, a real example, of such an implementation, if not at the national level, then at least in a small community?
 
PS Some people mistakenly believe that moving away from the monetary system and transitioning to a natural economy and barter will solve the problem of “consumerism.” But this is a misconception; it is simply another form of consumerism