Needs and Desires: Baudrillard’s Theory of Consumer Society and Its Ecological Reflection-An Introspection Based on Marx’s Critical Theory of Capital

Baudrillard’s analysis and critique of the consumer society provides a good perspective for us to understand the attributes of consumption in contemporary society. He applies Lacan’s psychoanalytic logic of needs and desires in his research, focusing on the structure of the consumer society and the imagery of consumer demand produced by this structure in the depth of the spirit, and analyzing consumerism as a social trend, ideology and way of life. At the same time, Baudrillard’s analysis of the consumer society has built-in reflection on ecological issues, highlighting the dimension of ecological criticism, which has certain significance to the ecological criticism of today’s capitalism and the construction of the concept of green consumption. However, Baudrillard’s research has certain limitations, as he inverts “production” and “consumption” and moves towards post-Marxist thinking. Therefore, in order to thoroughly analyze the consumer society, eliminate the need for alienation, and find the key to solving the ecological crisis, it is necessary to return to Marx’s research.