It is widely believed that consumerism is vital for the economy well-being of a country. However others feel that consumerism has unacceptable social consequences on a society. Discuss both these views and give your own opinion

There have been many studies on 1why some economies are successfulhow some economies are so successful while others are still struggling to survive. Many economists advocate consumerism on the grounds that it is the 2main driver of a prosperous economyprime factor of a wealthy economy. However, socialists argue that consumerism would also cause adverse 3effects on societyeffects on a society. 4I hold a mixed viewI am of the mixed opinion.

5Regarding the economic benefits, consumerism would help an economy to be more sustainable. Lessons learnt from recent financial crises such as the collapse of 6Lehman Brothersthe Lehman Brothers’ bank 7or the Greek debt crisisor Greek debt crisis have shown that countries with a large 8domestic consumer basedomestic buying force 9would recover more effectivelywould recover better. Nowadays, many governments have chosen to 10boost domestic spendingboost the internal spending as an important strategy to stimulate their economy. 11China, Japan and the United States are good examples. On the other hand, countries such as Singapore have a relatively 12small domestic consumer basesmall pool of local consumers and have to 13rely heavily on international traderely much on international trading. 14Those countries are more vulnerable to the health of the world economy.

However, in terms of social impact, consumerism would create societies that value 15economiccommercial contributions over social contributions. In such societies, 16wealthy people who spend more moneypeople who spend more money such as the rich would be considered to be more important than scientists or artists. As a result, despite some short-term economic success, the 17well-being of societywell-being of the society will suffer in the long term due to social issues such as the gap between the rich and the poor or 18a lack of scientific and cultural developmentlack of science and cultural development. People who live in those societies would have 19more stressful livesa more stressful life.

In conclusion, although consumerism has some economic advantages, it has 20negative effects on societynegative effects on the society that should not be overlooked. Therefore, a balanced socioeconomic development strategy would be of great importance.