With the rapid development of modern society, it is sometimes argued that domestic facilities, such as a car, a television and a fridge, should be possessed by everyone. While this ownership can financially benefit the automobile industry, its drawbacks, particularly in terms of an unsustainable environment, might significantly overshadow.
Admittedly, when all people allocate their money to purchase household appliances like a television and a fridge, the electronics industry can be economically prosperous. This is because these facilities are considered to be indispensable, thus, even a low-income family would make an effort to buy them in order to ensure their basic quality of life is fulfilled. For example, a fridge has the ability to preserve food without spoiling it, which might boost nutrition for a family, or a television can actually help individuals get access to global news within seconds. All of them allow people to upgrade their life, which means that their demand for these things would increase, contributing to the sales growth of the automobile industry. Not to mention that nowadays people often convey the message that happiness and social status are tied to owning a car or state-of-the-art household appliances, which would stimulate individuals to invest more in domestic facilities even if their budget is relatively tight, in some cases.
On the other hand, the argument that everyone should possess a car, a television and a refrigerator can bring about a number of negative impacts on the environment. For instance, when more and more people choose to have a car, there might be a sharp increase in the number of private vehicles on the roads, which might seriously deteriorate the environment for the carbon dioxide that these vehicles emit. Furthermore, the production process of these household appliances normally consumes a huge amount of non-renewable energy, including coal, petroleum and natural gas, which would certainly adversely impact on the environment.
In conclusion, both perspectives have their own validity. However, I believe that the downside of this development, which is a degradation in the environment, can substantially outweigh its upside in terms of financial boost for the electronics industry.