Constraints and opportunities in the era of consumerism

The thesis presents modern lifestyle with an emphasis on consumerism in practice and connects current social conditions with the processes they are a result of, basing them on the evolution of consumerism through history. It also touches on current data – the amount of products sold, the situation on the labor market and the division of profits, through which it also discusses social inequality. Furthermore, the thesis investigates various hardships that arise in such systems, mainly at the level of the increasingly exposed individual. In continuation some guidelines for reflection and concrete answers to the previously identified problems are presented, at the individual as well as social and environmental levels. The empirical part of the thesis on the other hand presents the results of an interview with a group of individuals who do not lead a typically consumer lifestyle and are critical to the present situation, not only in words but also in deeds. The interview presents their way of life, the concrete practices and challenges faced, and consequently also some of the solutions to the current social problems. Finally, the thesis also offers some possible directions for the individual, social pedagogy, the school system and society in general, and most importantly does not accept the current social situation as well as the supposed image of its future as the only possible and irreversible