Experts state that during environmental, humanitarian, and social crisis periods occurring every ten to twenty years in the world and Turkey, consumers are observed to turn to hoarding to secure their livelihoods, adding that wars, internal conflicts, inflationary environments, and epidemics trigger hoarding.
Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ stated that consumers resorting to short-term solutions like hoarding to secure their own livelihoods means the stagnation of production and distribution elements, which are part of economic efficiency, and added, “Therefore, it is extremely important for individuals to build social interaction focused on the values of labor and trust, rather than cunningly or panickedly engaging in economic action solely considering their own interests.”
Research Assistant Dr. Berat Dağ from the Sociology Department of Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences evaluated the issue of hoarding in homes.
Consumers can be seen turning to hoarding to secure their livelihoods
Dr. Berat Dağ stated that hoarding means the illegitimate accumulation and storage of commodities supplied by producers to gain more profit from them, adding, “In this context, it is clear that the process of producers hoarding commodities and offering them for sale at exorbitant prices victimizes consumers. In societies with low levels of social trust, it is expected that isolated consumers will try to find short-term solutions, imitating producers, against this victimization. Therefore, during environmental, humanitarian, and social crisis periods occurring almost every ten to twenty years in the world and Turkey, consumers can be seen turning to hoarding to secure their livelihoods.”
Wars, internal conflicts, inflationary environments, and epidemics trigger hoarding!
Sociologist Dr. Berat Dağ noted that in the atmosphere of fear and anxiety caused by wars, internal conflicts, inflationary environments, and epidemics, individuals and communities focus on their own interests and resort to thoughts and actions like hoarding, and also said the following regarding inflation, which triggers hoarding in society:
“One of the measures that must be taken to achieve a sustainable level of development is related to solving the inflation problem. Because in a risky environment where prices fluctuate extremely rapidly, it becomes difficult for individuals to make rational decisions for social interests. In other words, individuals' doubts about their present and future, and their obsession with the sole goal of saving, will prevent them from participating in the production, circulation, and consumption process.”
Hoarding deepening social inequality is a serious problem
Dr. Berat Dağ also stated that the deepening of social inequality by hoarding, to which inflationary environments push producers and consumers, is a serious problem, adding, “To sustain social solidarity against this problem, it is extremely important to consider economic, health, and justice policies that inspire trust in individuals, communities, and societies.”
Hoarding causes social devastation…
Dr. Berat Dağ also noted that every individual and community engaging in hoarding, while meeting their own interests, does not realize the social devastation they cause, and said, “Producers hoarding to gain unfair profit will lead to the spread of social poverty and conflict. On the other hand, consumers resorting to short-term solutions like hoarding to secure their own livelihoods means the stagnation of production and distribution elements, which are part of economic efficiency. Therefore, it is extremely important for individuals to build social interaction focused on the values of labor and trust, rather than cunningly or panickedly engaging in economic action solely considering their own interests.”
Goods turned into garbage…
Dr. Berat Dağ noted that it is known that suppliers hoard the commodities they possess with greed for profit, and even turn them into garbage, adding, “It is also clear that consumers, in this environment, panic and tend to accumulate more than they need. Therefore, today's economic interactions are shaped by an excess based on individual interests. Summarizing this process with the analogy of a 'social eclipse' is quite apt.”
Consumers' tendency for hoarding…
Dr. Berat Dağ stated that consumers' tendency for hoarding cannot be understood without considering the resulting social interactions, adding, “In this context, it is simple to predict that these types of individual problems will constantly be encountered as long as an egalitarian, libertarian, and solidaristic social structure is not built within a framework of labor-based trust. From this point, it is necessary to remind that a world where individuals do not feel at risk is possible. If individuals have started to think that they will suffer hunger, become impoverished, be unable to find shelter, fall ill, or even die at any moment, then no more time should be lost in analyzing the structural crises causing this thought.”