I buy therefore I am

Consumerism and the Search for Identity

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I buy therefore I am ' Discuss this statement by exploring how the things that we buy and consume aid in the construction of our own identities

Introduction

The question `who am I ' is probably the most fundamental one a person can pose in their search for self-identity . Yet , as short and quaint as the question may appear , it has been one of the most deeply philosophized in the history of humankind . At the heart of

the search for individual enlightenment is a discussion over the nature of identity which focuses on the ability of social constructs and influences to mold it . While Plato described the human being as eternal and unchangeable later theorists such as Marx , Nietzsche and Stirner countered this view by placing individuals and their identities within a greater social context . Essentialist and anti-essentialists have been arguing over the innateness and creation of individual identities for millennium but within the last hundred years we have seen a powerful new influence over identity , consumerism , complicate the debate . The purpose of this work is to ask to what extent the rise in consumerism over the last decade has affected the construction of our identities

Consumerism and Identity

Consumerism is most often defined by a buyer 's identification with the products and services they purchase . The connection between big brand names and status enhancement has been continually made by those who argue that consumer products are a means of proclaiming and identifying social status in consumer cultures . Some would go so far as to question whether we are in fact replacing human relations with consumer products . April Benson , in her book I Shop Therefore I Am , deals with the very personal nature of consumer shopping . She places great significance on the consumption of products as the affirmation and even the creation of identity . Using a play on words of Descarte 's famous phrase , Benson unites the search for identity with the act of shopping in modern times In fact , the title implies that shopping is directly responsible for the buyer 's existence . Benson states that shopping is a way we search for ourselves and our place in the world ' She adds , Shopping is an interactive process through which we dialogue not only with people places , and things , but also with parts of ourselves . This dynamic , yet reflective process , reveals and gives form to pieces of self that might otherwise remain dormant .the act of shopping is one of self-expression , one that allows us to discover who we are

That consumerism comes from within and is not a social construct has been argued against by anti-essentialists for years . For theorists such as Marx , Nietzsche , Stirner and Sartre , the very nature of self-identity , namely the formation of identity by social constructs from the time of birth , signifies that consumerism is inbred into individuals rather than being an innate quality . Jean Paul Sartre held existence precedes and rules essence ' Once we...