The ‘end justifies the means,’ mentality saturates politics in 2024!

 Weekly Opinion Editorial

CHANGING VALUES!

by Steve Fair

     The theory of consumption values (TCV) asserts individual’s buy stuff based on five values: functional, emotional, social, epistemic, and conditional.  Economists, sociologists, psychologists, marketers, and political scientists are continually studying what influences people’s decision-making processes and how they can capitalize on that knowledge. 

     Consumer behavior is always changing.  In the United States, for example, 75% of consumers tried a new way to shop after the COVID-19 pandemic. On-line shopping has exploded in growth.  Brand loyalty is at an all time low.  Vitamin consumption is at an all time high.   

     Personal values significantly influence consumer behavior, guiding individual preferences and decisions. These values, shaped by cultural, family, and personal experiences, dictate what products, services, or candidates people find essential or desirable.  How does consumer behavior reflect America’s values?

     First, America’s moral values have plummeted.  In a recent Gallup poll, 54% of U.S. adults rated the countries’ moral values as poor.  Another 33% rate them as only fair, 10% good and only 1% excellent.  Republicans are more negative about the values of the country than Democrats, but 83% of all Americans believe the values in the U.S. are on the slide.  Republicans (65%) attribute the decline to lack of religious training, Democrats (63%) believe it is a combination of issues in the home and the overall culture.    

      A University of Chicago study found Republicans and Democrats were not that different in their core values, but neither group want to hear that. Nine out of ten Ds and Rs surveyed agreed fairness, compassion and personal responsibility should be guiding values in life for an individual.  Yet only about a third of either group believed the opposing Party actually practices those values.  Skepticism, cynicism, and mistrust fuel a lack of civility. 

      Second, consumer behavior reflects America’s changing moral values.  In the first half of 2024, shoplifting in the U.S. was up 24% vs. 2023.  What was once considered dishonesty and thieve, shoplifting has now become mainstream.  A recent study found shoplifting is now more common among those with some college education and earning middle class income than the poor. 

     Some people steal because they believe large corporations are profiteering and they are righting a wrong.  They believe the company will absorb the loss, but retailers are not sponges.  They pass the cost of the pilfering by raising prices.  Everyone pays for light fingered Louies’ purloining in higher prices.

     The ‘end justifies the means,’ mentality saturates politics in 2024.  Unethical and immoral behavior is considered acceptable. Win at any cost is the order of the day and anyone who preaches restraint is branded a wimp and a weakling.   

     Third, America’s moral values are always reflected at the polls and at the grocery shelf.  When angry Americans hoard toilet paper, rip retail clerks, and have no tolerance for shortages, they get impatient, angry, entitled elected officials. .    

     In a self-governing system of government, citizens get the government they deserve- every time.  That is consistent with TCV: people buy products and vote for people who align with their personal values.  When filching merchandise from a retailer has become acceptable behavior, who is surprised by elected officials with similar values?