On the surface it might seem like consumerism as a way of life is a fairly new creation. The 20th century saw the rise of consumerism as the cultural norm in the west, and the term is certainly closely linked the current trend of materialism and consumption.
I dont think for a moment though that modern day western society can lay any claim to inventing consumerism, and I think its pretty arrogant to make that claim. The idea that we can improve our lives by consuming has been around as long as people have, and the modern west was by no means the first society to take up that mantle as the norm.
I have been working my way through Ecclesiastes with the help of Matt Chandler (have a listen here), and its pretty clear that Solomon both lived in a society where consumerism was normality, and recognised its folly. As Solomon writes at the start of the book,
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
– Ecclesiastes 1:9
Consumerism is a lie which must be challenged and responded to with the gospel, but it is not a new lie.
I think I hear what you’re saying, but I’m just not convinced you’re right. There’s a huge difference between consumption (e.g I’ve just bought some food or a new bed) and consumerism. Everyone consumes and you’re right, always have done always will. But Solomon certainly didn’t live in a society where consumerism was the norm. You have a rich elite, with Solomon the richest of them all. His riches were in part God’s favour and in part his oppression of the poor.
Consumerism is not the poor seeking material goods to improve there lives, that’s not even materialism. Consumerism is seeking material goods when their acquisition won’t improve your life (eg replacing a TV with a HD TV, a mobile phone for an iPhone etc…). Consumerism is about getting your identity from the brands you wear and own not simply being able to buy the food or clothes you need to survive.
Greed is as old as sin, the desire to trust in riches is as old as sin, but consumerism is a new spin on some old sins and humanity hasn’t seen it before. However, we agree it’s a lie and we must challenge it. Keep posting on it!!
Warm regards
It’s fair to say that consumerism is more rampant now that it has been before (possibly ever before), but when I say that consumerism was normal in Solomon’s time I don’t mean that everyone lived to consume as a means of identity.
What Solomon set’s out to do in Eccelesiastes is figure out whether any of the things man chases have meaning. He chases after wisdom, self-indulgence (which I think is essentially consumerism), working hard, and a few other things.
I don’t think for a moment that in his time consumerism was the most prevalent in society, any more than I think that seeking identity through wisdom is the most prevalent in our society today. But there is no doubt in my mind that it existed and that many people believed they could find themselves through consumption. If that wasn’t the case then I don’t see why Solomon would have addressed the issue in his exploration of life.
I really enjoy reading your blog, and I think it’s great that you engage with what is clearly a huge issue in our society. I just don’t think that we have run into a brand new problem.