UPSC Mains 2025 GS1 Q10: model answer
Do you think that globalization results in only an aggressive consumer culture ? Justify your answer.
What the question wants
Take a position: globalisation encourages consumerism but has other cultural, social and economic effects too.
How to structure it
Intro: define. Body: yes, consumer culture (evidence); but not only (other effects). Conclusion: balanced view.
- 1Yes, consumer culture (evidence)
- 2But not only (other effects)
Model answer
Globalisation is the faster flow of goods, capital, ideas and people across borders. It has made consumption more visible, but not consumption alone.
Where it feeds consumer culture
- Global brands, malls and e-commerce sales events; credit and 'buy now, pay later'.
- Advertising and social media influencers turn wants into needs.
- Fast fashion and electronics churn, with a waste cost.
Why 'only' is wrong
- Economic: IT and services jobs, remittances (India is the largest recipient), MSMEs reaching export markets.
- Social: women's work in services, global campaigns like #MeToo, wider access to education online.
- Cultural exchange: yoga, Indian food and cinema going global; 'glocalisation' as brands adapt to Indian tastes.
- Counter-trends: minimalism, second-hand markets, and Mission LiFE's call for mindful consumption.
So globalisation offers choices. Whether those become aggressive consumerism depends on our values and policies.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
consumerism glocalisation remittances Mission LiFE cultural exchange
Where most answers lose marks
- Answering only 'yes' or only 'no' without justification.
- No Indian examples.
- Forgetting the word 'only' in the question.
Learn the concept
Question text as printed in the official UPSC question paper: https://www.upsc.gov.in/sites/default/files/GENERAL-STUDIES-PAPER%20I-QP-CSM-25-010925.pdf The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.