American-style Consumer Culture Of Ethical Reflection And Rational Choice

Modem consumption style reflects modern consumption culture,and American style is the main current. Its values is "enough material enjoyment is good", and its consumption culture having reflected is "the high-consuming consumption culture"; "the flaunting consumption culture ";" the morbid consumption culture"; "the over - consuming consumption culture "etc. And the causes of the formation of American style's modem consumption culture are:the value favouritism of materialism; the stimulant of consumptionism culture; the value drive of e-conomism. To sum up, its value pursuits is to meet the limitlessly inflating desire. As a result, modern consumption culture-rich material and poor spirit contradict each other.Modem consumption faces double challenges. On one hand, hedonism consumption in the world of the rich, not only surpasses the needs of life, also exists vast waste, which is one of the roots of resources deficiency problem and environmental pollution problem. On the other hand, the poor are forced to consume scarcity, which causes vicious cycle between poverty and environmental destruction. Under the inducement of "American style" values, unbearable pressure is brought to the earth, that is to say the earth can' t bear the vicious development of modem consumption style. People's limitlessly inflating desire in consumption field creats Man's living crisis.Surpassing American style's modem consumption culture have peo-pie make a rational decision on modern consumption style, which is the prerequisite and starting point to establish modern consumption ethics. Baker's second modernlized theory is the theory pattern of establishing modern consumption ethics. Such a theory emphasizes that Man's competition during the second modernlized period lies in non - material competition and means to reverse the trend of hedonism caused by desire of gaining profit in spite of the consequence that formed during the first modernlized era, and advocates an ethics of abandoning whose main connotations are the sence of duty, the sence of esteem and the idea of self-control. The ethics of abandoning is feasible for its dual nature - egoism and altruism. The theory of modern consumption ethics aims at advocating the whole society to abandon one - sided consumption notion and the pattern of incrase, to concentrate on the problem of living quality. Its main characteristic is to show the improvement of people' s living quality from the distillation of spiritual life. This is a new consumption ethics, its codes apply to sustainable development. So the ethical trends of modern consumption style are: leading people's "limitless pursuit" of consumption to spiritual world; laying the values of modem consumption in material moralized control; laying the aim of modern consumption in rational ,civilizational, healthy consumption style.The main choices of modem consumption style extended from its ethical vision are sustainable consumption style. The principles of moderation,just,homoney and increasing the proportion of spiritual consumption are also the neuclear contents advacated by modern consumption ethics. Therefore, sustainable consumption style is the feasible style of modern consumption ethics. Then, the contermeasures machanism to setup sustainable consumption style is:improving people's sustainable consumption sence and deeping it into people's heart; establishing a price system to internalize environment and resources; studying and developing sustainable items actively; strengthening the foundation with sustainable consumption legislative system and administrative system.