What is Consumerism?

Consumerism is a social and economic order and ideology that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. Early criticisms of consumerism are present in the works of Thorstein Venlen (1899). Veblen's subject of examination, the newly emergent middle class arising at the turn of the twentieth century,comes to fruition by the end of the twentieth century through the process of globalization. In this sense, consumerism is usually considered a part of media culture.