Prompt: Topic : many people say that we now live in 'consumer societies' where money and possessions are given too much importance. Others believe that consumer culture has played a vital role in improving our lives. Discuss both views and give your opinion.

Undoubtedly, money and wealth are two indispensable compositions of our modern society. Many people believe individuals and societies both emphasize money and possessions too much, which leads to egotism in our societies. While some claim that the improvement of our living conditions depends on the consumer societies to some extent. In my opinion, consumerism is an inevitable trend but its drawbacks cannot be ignored. Ċ First of all, consumption contributes a lot to each country's economic growth. If we were still attaining goods via bartering like our ancestors did thousands years ago, our standard of living would never be improved, and our demand would never be satisfied. Furthermore, money and wealth can certainly be the incentives of working. An individual, for instance, would only be willing to finish overtime work at higher wages. When he or she earns more money, some commodities will be purchased, such as cars and furniture. As a result, this person's quality of life will be improved through this earning-and-purchasing cycle. Ċ However, the drawbacks of consumer societies are self-evident. Throw-away culture has gradually developed in this kind of society, leading to lavishness. In particular, those who have high income tend to have extravagant lifestyle. In addition, considering too much about profits makes people greedy and selfish. That is why we sometimes feel somewhat indifference between people in our societies. Ċ In conclusion, there are convincing arguments both for and against consumer societies. It can be seen that consumerism is one of the inevitable steps of the development of human beings' society, whereas there are not only benefits we can get, but some issues waiting to be tackled.