Consumerism is a social and economi

Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the purchase of goods and services in ever-greater amounts. Criticisms of consumption are already present in the works of Thorstein Veblen (1899). Veblen's subject of examination, the newly emergent middle class arising at the turn of the twentieth century,[1] comes to full[citation needed] fruition by the end of the twentieth century through the process of globalization. In this sense, consumerism is usually considered a part of media culture.