Value Judgment and Consumerism: Evaluating American Consumer Culture

This essay argues that American consumer gloss is largely driven by the economic, social and mental landscape of usance- which blurs the annotation between needs and pauperisms of American consumers. Values of goods and harvest-tides are therefore judged on the basis of how they satisfy personal wants or else of the intrinsic take to be of the products or work. However, while this is the case, American consumers provoke be dumbfound more demanding and particular with products and services.The derision shows that Americans are driven by a consumerist acculturation consumption and harbor judgment are made based on the personal and artistic determine of products but competition is making consumers more knowledgeable in choosing their products. American Culture of Consumption Consumption in American guild has been regarded as a standard of living and a way of life- the rampart of which is fuelled by a commodity culture that emanates from the abundance in merchandise and from a sociological point of view, a way to distinguish and force bonds with each other (Friedman, 2).Consequently, it is not only the economic and sociological value that determines how Americans values goods and services- to a large extent, the psychological impact of consumption specially the emotional gratification which has been celebrated and integrated in popular culture drives the value of goods and services regardless of their true meaning to the American consumer.Significantly, American consumer culture rests on the principle that great deal work because they want to have the material things that they think they need- things that their social circle has or even people in pile media. To a large extent, American consumer culture is fuelled by big line of workes which seek to gull consumerism of every American a inclination rather than a pursuit of better value. Fundamentally, this hastens the ability of American consumers to perplex the line between what is needed a nd what is wanted thus, making mistaken military rank of products and services.First, consumerism in American confederacy is largely driven by atomic reactor media which largely dictates the value of products and services. Consumers belief in the value of an object is a construct that is driven by companies seeking to attain profitability- with the aid of mass media, companies capitalize on value groundwork consumers are made to want a product and are made to need them regardless if they in truth need the product or service (Plaster and Alderman, 2).The control of companies on the intuition of the consumers on the value of the product and services in turn alters the psychological and social acceptance of a product- the more popular a product is, the higher the value it has according to the society. Thus, popular culture becomes more than an one-on-one construct but rather, it becomes a social construct to which military rating of products and services are manufactured in the media and consumed by the American public. For instance, the I-pod by apple is now considered by any American youth to be a necessity.This is not the case for countries in Africa and to several countries in Asia. However, due to the commodious influence of mass media, owning an I-pod is now considered as a necessity instead of being a fancy product. This is because American popular culture has authentic and embraced the trend thus, making its way into the lifestyle of the people. Essentially, the value of an I-pod or a product for that matter becomes prominent. This is regardless of whether it is needed to survive.Second, inability of American consumers to value products based on its intrinsic merits emanates from the materialist-fuelled society. Essentially, American consumer culture emerged from the association of philistinism with that of the family, sexuality and the individual- realities that have given the essence of existence and in swan to be participants within the Am erican culture (Agnew, 4). The association of social shape and importance has been related to consumerism- the more one consumes, the higher the social stand one attains.Thus, the belief of consumers that narrowting or buying the about pricey brands would make their social standing better is again fuelled by the business purlieu and mass media. Due to societal pressure which can come from the family and ones social circle, American consumers become susceptible to the base of needs and in the process, disregarding their personal perception or valuation of a product. For instance, while mainstream society values affordable products, the need to get the latest models and the best brands drives competition to create brand names that precedes their reputation.This is the condition why surplus goods are abundant and midnight sales are frequent. The unquenchable drive to get the new products that neighbors or relatives have further muddled the accurate valuation on the real value of the product. However, while mainstream American consumers neglects the intrinsic value of the product they are purchasing, another group of American consumers have emerged in recent years- those who have been advocating ethical and pragmatic consumption.Valuing a product or service according to Cohen, Comroy and Hoffner (67) necessitates the consideration of ethical consumption when making ordinary purchases in order to lessen the exploitation of the environment and the natural resources as well as the indiscriminate use of chinchy labors to produce affordable and quality goods. This stream of consumers advocates for the vigilance and empowerment of the American public in choosing the products or services those are basic and natural to survival.While this has yet to receive much support in the society, this movement is stepwise taking ground. Finally, with the advent of internet and technological revolutions, consumerism in American society is further heightened. The easier a ccess to products and goods oftentimes, without looking at the products further diminishes the ability of consumers to make an accurate valuation of the products. Conclusion Essentially, American society values consumerism and materialism and in the process, the distinction between consumer needs and consumer wants have become indistinct.To a considerable extent, the inability to distinguish between the two has propelled the inability of most consumers to value products and services. Thus, while there are segments of the society that has opposed this attribute of consumer culture, the predominant and mainstream American culture continues to consume and spend on products that they whitethorn know little or nothing about. Works Cited Cohen, Maurie, Comrov, Aaron and Hoffner, Brian. The new regime of consumption Promoting sustainability in the American marketplace. Sustainability Science, Practice and Policy. 1, 1(2005) 58-76. Plaster, Gary and Alderman, Jerry. Customer value creatio n A platform for profitable growth. Charter Consulting. 1 (2006) 1-7. Friedman, Monroe. The consumer culture look into landscape. The Journal of American Culture. 30, 1(2007) 1-5. Agnew, J. C. The Consuming Vision of Henry James. The Culture of Consumption. Eds. R. W. play a trick on and T. J. J. Lears. New York antheon, 1983.