Materials Economy

Stuff In our society today consumption is such a way of life that we don’t think twice about the things we buy or waste. We don’t think about whether or not we really need it or if we can really afford it. We have fallen victim to this constant need to have the newest and latest thing on the market that we have lost site of how it is taken effect on our environment and if it is even healthy for us. If I had to choose what position I hold in this materials economy I would definitely put myself as one of the less important people, the consumer. I know that on plenty of occasions I have found myself consoling myself with useless material consumption. When I am having a bad day and I need something to pick my spirits up I go shopping when I can afford it. When I feel inadequate as a woman by today’s standards I go shopping to upgrade my appearance. If I am trying to make someone happy or show them their worth to me I go shopping and buy them useless material things that I feel they would value instead of my time and affection as if it was not as valuable. I do this with no thought in the world on what these products represent to me and the environment. I have been ignorant to the logistics of this system on all levels. I did to my defense educate myself on some of the issues that are involved in corporations systems of production. I found out about some of the issues that arise with the way corporations profit partly because of the way they skimp on employee’s salaries, their benefits and how they outsource their manufacturing companies for slave labor. I have always had a problem with this system because of how employees are exploited but I did not take into account all the other damage this system does. Wall mart is in my opinion one of the worst corporations in this department that you can find. They participate in all these horrible legal business practices. If I could be in another position in this system I would probably want to become a political advocate against immoral corporate practices such as exploitation of workers and the degradation of the environment. This would probably be very difficult to do considering the government now a days is run by corporations but that is the position I’d like to hold. The only contribution I can give to making a difference at this point is to try and be conscious of how I consume and dispose of my products as well as what I can do not to pollute the environment any more than it already is, like using biodiesel fuel for my car. I would also like to get involved with some of these environmentally friendly organizations and educate people on the facts of this system and how it affects the world but that is highly unlikely considering my current situation and limitations on time. I will tell everyone around me who will listen. I have already shown this clip on material economy to 5 people. They were in shock on the way products are made and how detrimental it is to people and the environment on so many levels. In the end we are all responsible to keep this earth clean and flourishing but under a system like materials economy it is pretty difficult to do.