Consumerism is a description of a society's lifestyle in which many people choose to achieve their goals by acquiring goods they clearly do not need (Stearns, 7). The idea that the market is shaped by the choice of consumers' needs and desires can be defined as consumer sovereignty (Goodwin, Nelson, Ackerman, Weisskopf, 2). This belief is based on the assumption that the consumer knows what he wants. Contrary to this logic, marketers convince us that the consumer doesn't know what he wants. You need to tell the consumer what they want or be persuaded by advertising items in order to demonstrate why a product makes their life easier or will immediately improve it. As one of the most successful entrepreneurs, Steve Jobs, has said many times over the years, “people don't know what they want until you show it to them” (Isaacson, 97). Consumers in this matter are negatively affected by constantly purchasing with the mood of wanting to fit in or wanting to buy the latest item. For example, the overexploitation of consumer spending has manipulated the importance of growing the economy by spending our income and collecting debt rather than living within our means by saving and investing for our personal growth (Smart, 42). Furthermore, consumerism is shaped by the mass market. Consumerism is the general assumption that human desires are infinitely expandable. That said, “If human desires are indeed infinitely expandable, consumption is ultimately incapable of providing satisfaction” (Roszak, Gomes & Kanner,3) Consumerism is a social and economic order and ideology that encourages the acquisition of goods and services at any time -larger amounts. This conspicuous consumption or the belief that goods are a thing… middle of the paper… pf, Thomas. Consumption and consumer society. Microeconomics in context. Medford, Massachusetts: M.E. Sharpe, press 2008.Isaacson, Walter. Steve Jobs. New York, New York: Simon & Schuster paperbacks, 2011. PrintRoszak, Theodore, Gomes, Mary E. and Kanner, Allen D. Ecopsychology: Restoring the Earth, Healing the Mind. Sierra Club Books, 1995.PrintSmart, Barry. Consumer society. UK: Sage Publications, 2010. Print.Stearns, P. Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire. Themes in world history. Routledge; 2 edition, 2006. Print.Kennedy, Emily Huddart. “Towards a sociology of consumerism”. 1:173.Web. May 12, 2014.Chasmar, Jessica. "A Chinese man fed up with his girlfriend's purchases jumps to his death.". The Washington Times, December 9, 2013. Web. May 12, 2014. US Congressman Beutler, H. Jaime. “End government overspending.” Network. May 16 2014.