Abstract

This paper explores how consumer culture influences one of the core aspects of humanity, death, as well its symbiotic relationship with technology for end-of-life-care. Examples are provided to argue that consumer culture strips away the human identity from the health care “equation” to focus on efficiency, productivity, and economic gain. These values are reflected in the technology itself including the product's life cycle. With the relationship between humanity and technology becoming more and more intertwined, a change must be made with how society looks at this relationship to maintain the human identity. These changes will be key to maintaining humanity in a transhumanist future.