I refer to Associate Professor Michelle Lee’s Opinion piece “Time to take a hard look at curbing consumerism” (Aug 26).

While I agree with her that the average consumer has a role to play in reducing excessive consumption, I feel she has overlooked the underlying problems. Consumerism is not just a consumer issue, but also a corporate and policy issue.

Consumerism is a corollary of capitalism and the growth imperative. Ever-increasing profit and economic growth demand ever-increasing consumption.

The annual exultation of gross domestic product and consumer spending growth implicitly endorses consumerism and the often shady business practices that fuel it.

Prof Lee portrays the average consumer as a free agent, for whom unshackling from consumerism is a matter of willpower. Yet the reality is that the average consumer is a victim of a concerted and unceasing campaign of manipulation, coercion and forced consumption. 

Companies make it difficult for people to stop consuming by adopting planned obsolescence. Phones, appliances, clothing and many other products are designed to deteriorate within a relatively short time.

Many companies make it prohibitively expensive to repair their products, and they prematurely end support for fully functioning older models, thereby forcing unnecessary new purchases. 

Companies also regularly manipulate consumers into spending more. They collect every bit of personal data to build profiles, and use them to push more products by exploiting an individual’s insecurities, fears and desires.

Strategies like “buy now, pay later” schemes, bundle deals and flash sales all aim to increase impulse buying and overspending.

Many of our public spaces are co-opted for advertising. Bus stops, MRT stations and trains, and even HDB lift lobbies, are fitted with screens to maintain relentless advertising engagement.

Notably, these strategies disproportionately affect the vulnerable in society.

So while we should promote socially responsible consumption, curbing consumerism does not begin with the consumer. It begins with strong consumer protection and privacy laws, because one cannot be a responsible consumer if every product is irresponsibly made and marketed.

We must also ask ourselves if consumerism is the coping mechanism of a time-starved, overworked society, in which brief comfort is found only in material accumulation.

Without addressing the fundamental problems of corporations and policies, any discussion on consumerism that places the blame solely on the consumer seems out of touch.

Holmberg Dennis