Overspending

This case study depicts the conversation between 5 people- an economist, a psychologist, a sociologist, a spiritualist and a Man. The conversation revolves around consumerism and whether it contributes to the society positively or negatively. These five individuals were participating in a 'Forum for Economic Growth', which was scheduled outside a mall. Suddenly it began raining and these five individuals got into a healthy debate regarding consumerism. Each of them had their own views and made their point.

Sociologist- believes that the new society is made through consumerism rather ‘victimized by consumerism’. According to him shopping generates more branding, more designing, more superficial fine-tuning, more law suits, more health hazards, more medical bills, more depression. In his view, the GDP only measures material growth. It certainly does not include all that Maslow has mentioned in his theory. It doesn’t cover values, happiness or safety. It shows that the sociologist is completely against consumerism – the obsessive and excessive consumption. He considers television serials to be a main contributor to this phenomenon as people aspire to be like the Viranis on TV who live extravagantly. India is an economy which thrives on consumption and material possession. The sociologist believes that this doesn’t create any real wealth for the society, it is just overspending.

Psychologist- believes that there is nothing wrong with consumerism. It drives us to work harder, so we can earn more; that's good for inflation and the economy. This excess income can be used for a lot more than buying the basic necessities. According to him, people who are 45 plus have simplified needs and wants, rationalized SKU categories and shopping lists. They are not the target audience for marketers.

Economists- talks about spirit of freedom and how it goes hand in hand with consumerism. He justifies consumerism by saying that it does good to society. At the same time he is worried that all the asset building for many goods is actually happening outside the country since India is weak at manufacturing sector and mostly depend foreign goods for consumption. Over time, real wealth as a percentage of economy gets eroded. He also says that India invests very less on education and most Indians would prefer to do their higher studies in the US rather than in India. This result in human capital flight and decrease in skill sets down the years.