Consumerism and Planned Obsolescence

The purpose of this discussion is to help you understand the growing concerns of consumerism and how the concept of consumerism is applied to varied contexts. Prepare and post a response to the following prompts:

• Describe consumerism. Describe a specific context and explain what consumerism means in the setting.
• What is planned obsolescence? What role does planned obsolescence play in consumerism? Describe one product or service and explain how planned obsolescence is incorporated into its design. Note: Do not use the same product or service that a classmate has already used in a previous post.    
• What are your personal beliefs and biases about consumption?
• Having separated your personal belief and biases and using your newly honed skills of ethical evaluation, present how you feel about consumerism and planned obsolescence as a societal issue using ethical theories and concepts.

Your initial post should be at least 300 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly sources, and properly cite any references in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. 

• Mosser, K. (2013). Ethics and social responsibility (2nd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.
• Marinho, F. (n.d.). Consumerism stats [Infographic]. Retrieved from http://thumbnails.visually.netdna-cdn.com/consumerism-stats_50290c18d4a8c.jpg