I believe that consumerism is a social ill in so far as it is an outlet for genuine human desires for creativity and self-expression, that under capitalism becomes incredibly damaging ecologically and potentially socially. Under a fairer and saner economic system, the manifestation of those same desires is much less likely to be so destructive as rampant capitalist consumerism.

For further reading: https://redsails.org/the-negation-of-abnegation/