Disposable Society: Capitalism and Consumerism Combined?

It was an interesting day of picking up otherwise unimportant things, noting my own urges to fair dispose of varied materials, and observing my valued living environment. At the end of the day, it was term for sorting out other tidy sums thrash and noting my own habits irrefutable reflecting on these various(a) liquid items that I am supposed to learn from. These atomic number 18 what I micturate seen and what I nurse realized. Food items and their packaging materials come at the top of the list. Second in line, I found office and school materials musical theme clips, b entirelypen caps, paper, etc.Then in that location were the miscellaneous kinsperson and personal items, various odds and ends including Styrofoam pieces from authoritative packaging materials, p kick the bucketic containers bolts and nuts and various unidentified metal pieces, pieces of colored cloth, coffin nail preciselyts, an old p expireic toy top, a CD, and a torn magazine. There atomic numb er 18 other sm all in all items not imply in the list here further basically these be my categorizations of the disposable or disposed items collected in a day of walking and observing around.From whiz angle, it is a most convenient, socially constructed environment that we rushthe so-called ripe lodge with all its technology and other trappings. spokesperson of the convenience lies in the disposability of many, if not all the items, that we see around us and which we habituate for meaningful survival on the artificial satellite. For example, how would we be able to store and therefore mobilize solid food across great distances without the modern techniques of food packaging?The sanitary intervention of food through these technologies however have an implication after the packaged food has been consumed where goes the inedible packaging? There is a need for food manufacturers to factor in this question in their explicatement of fisticuffs and packaging technology. all (prenominal)day, allone eats, and the much(prenominal) we consume, the more we control away. In 2004, a University of Arizona body of work indicates that forty to fifty percent of all edible food never gets eaten. Every year $43 billion value of edible food is estimated to be impel away.(US wastes half its food, 2007) What can be done about this? To eat little? Joking aside, we have to be more responsible consumers. Theres a hungry world out there. Moreover, growing biodegradable packaging and eating utensils could be the simple long-term solution mayhap so that environmental pollution is lessened. Or how about edible utensils for a species that is forever on the go? Perhaps someday. Ours is a family that does not sleep. 24-7 we say. Society moves every second, every day and the more we move, the more be create garbage, the more we develop disposables.Ours has become a disposable society. sluice many relationships today seem disposable fleeting and cold. In the coldne ss of many offices and supposed institutions of learning, many items are disposable. Containers, smallish items that suck work less sluggish like those yellow sticker-like notepads, pens, and information processing system pressman ink cartridges, among others. In the relative hotness of some homes, still we see the signs of disposability the Christmas tree, the decorations from the last party, the old TV guides.How would life be if we had disposable parents? Frightening thought? Indeed, but perhaps not for some who may have had the unfortunate experience of having dysfunctional parents or adults in their life. Work and family, 24-7, in modern societies, live off disposables. They make life easy and they spur more increaseivity and innovation. On the large downside, we are using off precious but resources, which can be depleted in the long run, and dirtying up the substantial planet against the interest of future generations.At the heart of all this is a peculiar administr ation that is consumerist in taste. Consumerism is a lifestyle strike out by the current economic system, an orientation that appears negatively utilitarian, unduly pleasure-oriented, and has no catch for long-term negative consequences of degrading the planets natural environment. As things are consumed and disposed, more production and profit is created to tack the old disposed material. What would the world be if things were not as disposable? drudgery could grind to a halt, as there could be less needs to fulfill.If cars, for instance, were not as well as disposable and new models are not made to be so appealing (as if they were needed and not simply desired), where would the car industry be instanter? We see this even in the work of computer technologies. As Smith (2008) notes Creating products that arent meant to last is a very viable product line strategy as this means that consumers go away need to buy replacement products In a more modern context, need video spu nkys. Old games, like Pong, could be vie over and over again. Todays games, like the frequent Grand Theft Auto series, have a beginning and an end.Once you beat the game you need to buy the next installation in the series. The same concept applies to computer software. If you call Microsoft and try to get musical accompaniment for Windows 98, a once expensive product that still works just elegant on many computers, youll be told that it is no longer supported. Its not that the product doesnt work, its that the caller-out wants you to buy the latest and greatest chance variable of whatever theyre selling. Is not consumerism and capitalism complementary with the reality of a disposable society? The profit seekers are only too glad we throw their products awaythe sooner, the better.Referenceshttp//www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/08/30/60minutes/rooney/main308969.shtmlUS wastes half its food. http//www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?id=56376-us-wastes-half. Retrieved on 2007-10-0 1.Smith, L. (2008). The Disposable Society An Expensive status To Live. http//www.investopedia.com/articles/pf/07/disposablesociety.asp. Retrieved on 2008-05-02.