Population relates to both consumerism and capitalism at different levels. Capitalists see population growth as both a threat and an opportunity to increase their profit levels. As the population grows, consumerism grows as well to serve the interest of the public. Population growth has negative impacts on the environment. People clear forests to erect houses for both commercial and domestic use. This process leads to biodiversity loss and climate menaces that affect the lives of people negatively. However, it has been difficult to handle the issue of population because different people view population issues from different perspectives. Around the global south, population growth is the major problem while in the global north; population decline is the major challenge.
Consumerism benefits the economy greatly as people continue to produce and consume products. Additionally, consumerism promotes the idea of industrialization, which is a major contributor to the economy of the world. As such, it becomes hard to change the values of consumerism regardless of the negative impacts that they pose to society because the advantages of consumerism outweigh its negativities. Capitalism, on the other hand, provides an equal ground where people can operate freely by allocating relevant authorities to both the government and the private sector. The politicians and capitalists exist in a mutual relationship. Therefore, it is difficult to ban or change capitalism values.
As population growth increases, the level of consumption rises, thus enhancing consumerism. Both consumerism and population compound one another. Consumerism focuses on the increased quantity of production at a reduced price per unit. On the other hand, Demand for basic items such as food and clothing rises as the population grows. The increased demand triggers more production of items to equalize supply and demand. However, the combination of this relationship can lead to negative environmental impacts where people employ the use of technology to improve productivity. Excessive use of machines and industrialization leads to high production of carbon dioxide, which is harmful to the environment.
Capitalism is a wealth-generating mechanism for many nations. As consumer demands increase, capitalists take that opportunity to produce more products at a lower cost to maximize profits. The aspect of mass production is detrimental to the environmental health of a society. Air pollution and deforestation are some of the major impacts that capitalism has on society. Population growth determines the levels of demand within a society, hence the level of capitalism. In addition, population growth results in increased per capita consumption, which is a key aspect of capitalism.
Bibliographies
Barro, Robert J. Macroeconomics: a modern approach. Mason, Ohio: Thomson South-Western, 2008.
Barry, John, and E G. Frankland. International Encyclopedia of Environmental Politics Hoboken: Taylor and Francis, 2014.
Kaufmann, Hans R., and Mohammad F. Panni. The Handbook of research on consumerism in business and marketing: concepts and practices. Hershey, PA: Business Science Reference, 2014.
Magdoff, Fred, and John B. Foster. What every environmentalist needs to know about capitalism: a citizen’s guide to capitalism and the environment. New York: Monthly Review Press, 2011.
Markandya, Anil. The Dictionary of environmental economics. London Sterling, VA: Earthscan Publications, 2011.
Newell, Peter. Globalization and the Environment, Capitalism, Ecology, and Power. Oxford: Wiley, 2013.
Robbins, Peter T. Greening the Corporation management strategy and the environmental challenge. London Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2011.
Klein, Naomi. This changes everything: capitalism vs. the climate. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2014.
Zamponi, Simonetta. Waste and consumption capitalism, the environment, and the life of things. New York: Routledge, 2011.
Angus, Ian, et al. Too many people? Population, immigration, and the environmental crisis. Chicago, Ill. Minneapolis, MN: Haymarket Books Distributed in the U.S. by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution, 2011.