Hyper-consumerism and Commodification of Women

As another Deepawali gets closer and The Times of India turns into The Ads of India, I wonder how many of the commodities- from iPhone, iPad to Nikes and Tag Heuers-being aggressively promoted do we actually need, specially in a world where close to 1.2 billion people survive on less than $1 a day.

Its definitely not expected of millionaires to avoid the show-off of Audi-Porsches and lead a Gandhian way of life, but what's really painful is the pressure that this culture of excessive consumerism is generating on the middle class and the lower segments of society, both economically and socially. It is also creating unnecessary strains on national economy and sustainability. 

Traditional bases of consumerism

In an era where effects of globalization are visible even in remote villages and religious values are giving way to new ways of life, many value aspects related to the all-important marriage ceremony are showing extraordinary resilience. 

Why does Indian society still measure in-laws' affection for the bride in terms of tolas of gold presented to her during marriage ceremony? 

Why do we even need to make a public show of the goods and money exchanged? 

It all gives an impression that the girl's place in the new home banks on the value and quality of the exchanges! Yes, I am pointing to the seedbeds of the plight of women in our society- the consumerist tendencies and the show-off culture. 

Whenever I ask people not to buy gold and switch to other jewelry, I get weird reactions against pointing to the fact that import of gold creates a massive burden on India's balance of payments and adversely affects our economy. Gold has strong backup in the 'golden' social values of our society as reflected in its special importance on the occasion of Dhanteras. Moreover, patriotism, as practised  in our society is a distinctive brand of selfish and parochial patriotism. 

Capitalist mode of consumerism

With the advent of modern means of production and communication, what we have been witnessing with each passing decade, is creation of more and more hypothetical needs through media campaigns funded by giant corporations and then feeding the same with high-profit useless goods. iPhone is a typical example! 'Useless' to me is any commodity which doesn't cater to substantive and real needs of day-to-day life, suitably matched to its monetary value. Only few years ago, many stylish and good to use handsets were in 10k range. Now, as a gentleman is judged not by his shoes but by his mobile handset, this range has crossed 40,000 Rs barrier. Even in the strongest analyses, i haven't found iPhone to be worth even one-fourth its price for the purpose it serves. It has been stealing money from people's pockets merely on the media hype and also because it has become a Veblen good in India.

Replacing one well functioning model by another has become the trend whether it be a cellphone or car and this tendency somewhere leads to replacing a girlfriend or wife with a 'better' one. This sense of good or better are mere manifestations of the consumerist culture. The values which lead man to happiness are being replaced by the values which lead man to madness. It has led to utter chaos of modern day life. No wonder teens are committing murders to own an iPad.

Adding to the woes of aam admi

India has the unique distinction of having more households with a mobile phone than a toilet, even though the latter costs less in most cases and is a far more basic necessity than a cellphone. Not only we need to understand the diversion of limited resources of poor towards unnecessary 'pulls' of consumerism, we also need to be sympathetic towards its reflections in their life in the form of poor nutrition, unhygienic living et c. We can gauge the scale of the problem if we analyse the value of a 3000 Rs cellphone in a rickshaw-puller's life- both in terms of money and its usage, i.e., the cost-benefit analysis. 

No wonder we find women in a highly vulnerable position in our predominantly patriarchal society where finances are handled exclusively by menfolk, primarily on two counts. One- women's needs, which are primarily family needs of nutrition, healthcare, education et c are cornered and consumerist pulls of the menfolk take an unfair share. Number two- the hyper-consumerist paradigm renders women's position as an object of pleasure and show-off thereby leading to the commodification of women that our society is witnessing. Female models featuring prominently along objects of desire in their commercial promotions, their particular positioning in advertisements not only substantiates the process but also strengthens it.

We can't expect the government to stop the juggernaut of giants like Apple and Samsung, especially in the WTO era or even a hefty increase in duties on gold jewelry is not practical due to political compulsions. All that we're left to do is to generate awareness. We need to understand that advertisements and media coverage is one of the most potent weapons of Capitalism today and also the fact that consumerism is its weapon of mass destruction(WMD). In the Galaxy of iPhone, SIII, Notes and Tabs, human beings are rendered as miniature objects and their needs frequently tampered with. We don't buy commodities, commodities buy us by the sheer force of  'appeal'. Even if I have three unused phones in my drawer still a fifth one tries to get its way. And, yes all this has a very deep impact on the quality of life we are living and the quality of the society that we're part of.