Thursday april 2nd: commercialsim & it'seffects

commercialism
noun
-the principles, spirits, and acts of commerce

which of course begs the question......

commerce
noun
-an interchange of goods or commodities, especially on a large scale

I'm interested in the ties that the spirit of commercialism has to the economy, the money spent, and of course my project. I found a wonderful article from the Center for the Study of Commercialism in Washington DC. The Culture of Commercialism: A Critique goes in depth into the effect commercialism may have on us as individuals, as well as the culture on the whole. The majority of the criticism is, as to be expected, negative. Besides the obvious, here are some interesting observations:
-"Commercialism contributes to environmental problems by encouraging wasteful use of natural resources. Over-packaging, disposable goods, and buying things we don't really need all contribute to unnecessary use of limited resources. "
-"Commercialism has influenced our political process. Many politicians try to attract votes with an image created by advertising and media coverage."
-"Ads cost us more in taxes, too. Advertising is a fully tax-deductible business expense. Because of this, state and federal treasuries receive billions of dollars less in business taxes each year."
-"Ads take a lot of our time. The average person spends almost an hour a day reading, watching, or listening to ads through TV, radio, theaters, videotapes, newspapers, magazines, mail, or telephone. "
-"Commercialism does not just promote specific products. It promotes consumption as a way of life. "
The article goes on to summarize these effects into the conlcusion that "Commercialism has clear parallels with industrial pollution. Just as modest amounts of waste can be absorbed by the natural environment, so modest amounts of commercialism can be assimilated by our cultural environment." Interesting to note that we have to walk a fine line here; many photographers pay their pills with the bread & butter work of advertising shoots. It's a push & shove, how much is too much, how much isn't enough? Where do we cut off industrys to rescue the earth or promotoe the industry to rescue the jobs? oxymoronic indeed....

article found on: http://www.media-awareness.ca