Consumer Spending Patriotic?
To be patriotic is defined as to love or defend one’s own country. Considering this definition, is it patriotic to shop given that the U.S. economy is based on consumer spending? Although there could be and are many opinions on the answer to this question, the real answer is simply yes, and no. In some cases it is most definitely patriotic to shop, but in others it is not at all, and in the remainder of this essay we will discuss why.
First, many would consider shopping to be a patriotic activity because there is no doubt that doing so supports the economy. What would happen if people all together decided to stop shopping, or even more specifically shop elswhere. Two things would happen. The first is that the United States would lose money on sales tax and the economy would completely tank. With this, the government would lose funds in the department of military defense. Second, not shopping in America means that the shopping will be done somewhere else. For example what if the shopping is done online and North Korea makes a profit off of it. In this case, whoever the consumer is, is theoretically attacking the United States by supporting a threatening country. Therefore to shop is a patriotic act, and to go further to not shop could be an act of treason.
The second opinion is that to shop is not patriotic. This too, is a very valid opinion considering the facts. 30.4% of the United States’ capital goods (computers, telecommunicatons equipment, motor vehicle parts, electric power machinery, etc.) and 31.8% of the United States consumer goods(automobiles, clothing, medicines, furniture, toys,etc.) are imports. With this large amount of imports, it is necessary to consider the amount of money being paid to the exporters of these goods. When these exporters are receiving money they can use it for anything their country wishes. Now this might seem like a stretch, but if Country A makes money off exports to the United States and trades with Country B, who is an enemy of the United States, then those exports could be indirectly supporting weapons and a potential war against the United States. This method of thinking, known as slippery slope is considered a legitimate argument by Theodore Schuck Jr. and Lewis Vaughn on page 56 of How To Think About Weird Things. As stated earlier this means that some shopping could be quite the opposite of patriotic and could be considered possibly treasonous.
Overall, it is apparent that there are multiple answers and opinions to this question of whether or not shopping is patriotic. On one hand, yes shopping is patriotic because it directly supports the United States through sales tax, and it keeps the economy running, which is helping to provide for the defense of the United States. On the other hand, shopping and the consumption of goods could be supporting foreign countries, which through trading could eventually be supporting a possible enemy of the United States. Both sides present valid arguments and in reality both are right. So there are two answers, yes shopping is patriotic and no shopping is not patriotic, it depends on the circumstances.
