Consumerism in the 21st century is what has shaped our economy for centuries. Throughout our history, the American Dream has been to become the most successful person you could be given the opportunities presented to you. Consumerism has provided our country with many jobs and efficient sources of income for the general population. Consumerism gives our country an advantage unlike many other countries in that you could grow up in a hard working blue collar family and become the most successful person in America. Although consumerism has many positive effects, it could also be the reason for many societal problems that people face day in and day out. A couple of positive effects that consumerism has had on our society is that consumerism has made our society more hardworking and motivated. Consumerism has also shaped our society to be more free-spirited because our society has been able to produce many products, giving us choices such as the type of clothes we can wear or the type of house we can buy. Another positive effect that consumerism has had on our society is that it has made us more competitive. Consumerism has made our society more selfish and less attentive to others. For example, given the abundance of food, there should be no reason for millions of people to go hungry in third world countries like Africa and India. Another big problem in our society is war which I believe is a direct effect of consumerism. Throughout history, war started because the leader of a colony or area became greedy and wanted to take over another area. The land we live in today called America was created by greedy Europeans who conquered the land of the Native Americans. This is a country you would be proud to live in, a country full of things