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In Defense Of Consumerism

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Within society today, people tend to have a special need when it comes to personal consumerism. Consumerism can be viewed in various aspects depending on if the persons lives their life based around materialistic items or if they choose to stray from this idea. However, when we narrow down what consumerism truly means we have to ask ourselves if consumerism is for the best or for the worst. The more people consume, the more they are attached to an item which can slowly destroy the personal independence our society holds today. When it comes to the subject of interest being books, consumerism opinions tend to change, Shakespeare and Company was originally a small shop composed of a bookstore and a library that was between 1919-1941 without consumers …show more content…

A famous writer named Rockwell saw consumerism not to be working against Americans but for it. Even using it as a way of propaganda by saying it could “equate consumerism with patriotism,” and therefore help to better America (Palmore, Haley M). Rockwell states “To be against commerce is to be against life itself”, In other words, if someone was completely against consumerism then there would be no room for the ideas of improvement in the country (In Defense of Consumerism). While consuming books are also seen as consuming knowledge, this isn’t always the case and can be twisted in many ways simply for a suppliers benefit, rather than the benefits a reader may get. However, books are not about what is being read, it’s about what is being felt, which is simply chosen by the consumer’s wants rather than their …show more content…

Rockwell continues to say that consumerism is ultimately unavoidable in today’s society, explaining that consumerism while in his opinion is for the best, is just a choice each individual has the right to make throughout their lives (In Defense of Consumerism). Overall, there’s only so much people should consume before they base their whole lives around buying and forget one imperative thing that’s meant to be done in the time they have and that is to simply make memories, live, and to explore new ideas. Shakespeare and Company is a place in society where someone may stop and make memories yet still use the money towards a small business. In a way, yes consumerism can’t be avoided, but is it in the best interest for the people, no. Making memories isn’t about how much money is spent, but rather who 's there and the location. Being able to visit somewhere like Notre Dame is a trip on it’s own, but to be able to visit a place in history for free, is something more

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