Liberal Paradox Of Consumerism

With the progress of science and technology are more widely used in production,making a huge development of social productive,more and more goods will beproduced fast. The Great rich of materials, which make people, have more and morerights to choose freely during the consumption activities, as well, it will also get rid ofthe shackles of material deprivation, becoming more freely. However, the fact is theabsolute free does not exist. The advocacy of consumer freedom is not the true senseof absolute freedom by consumerism, it only appears on the surface, this kind offreedom built between the infinite of desires and the above of possessions, due to thisunstrained freedom of consumption, it could not bring some real freedom anddevelopment for the people;but also lead people assume consumption as the finalgoals to pursuit life; Thus, it is believed that this irresponsible concept of will resultseriously in human crisis/social crisis/ecological crisis/environment crisis. Inthese perspectives, realization the development of human being’s freedom is regardedas empty lip service. Therefore，when people during the freedom consumptionactivities should be limited and restricted these will not reduce the freedom, but alsois kind of an effective protection. On the other hand, the true freedom is not perceivedas the absolutely freedom, but rather the unity of freedom and responsibility.Therefore, freedom consumption is not absolutely freedom, is built in the objective ofunderstanding of consumer purposes and the law, it also should compliance withsocial norms, natural, and above the others being highly responsible for a relativelylimited freedom.This article comes from consumerism as one set of values and lifestyles whichhave penetrated into all spheres of society, and under the waves of the mass media,consumerism advocated by consumer freedom has profoundly changed people’sconsumption concept/lifestyle and consumption activities. This essay based on thetitle of “freedom paradox”, and use of Marx’s basic point of view, on the consumerfreedom to conduct in-depth research and analysis, consumer freedom to criticize andbeyond, to build a scientific concept of consumption. As people–oriented, natural carrying capacity limits of a reasonable and modest science, the concept ofsustainability consumption, the scientific view of consumption is the only way forhumans to get real liberation to achieve true freedom and comprehensivedevelopment.