A Brief History of Consumer Culture

MIT Press ^ | Jan 11, 2021 | Kerryn Higgs

[Languager]

Over the course of the 20th century, capitalism preserved its momentum by molding the ordinary person into a consumer with an unquenchable thirst for more stuff...

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TOPICS: History; Miscellaneous; Society
KEYWORDS: agitprop; astroturf; consumerism; consumertemples; demagogicparty; disposablesociety; dnctalkingpoint; dnctalkingpoints; kerrynhiggs; leftistscreed; massconsumption; mediawingofthednc; mitpress; partisanmediashill; partisanmediashills; thirstformorestuff

[Languager]

Interesting take on history of consumerism in the US

[Steely Tom]

Yes, before the 20th Century, everyone lived like Henry David Thoreau, in a cabin built by their own hands, wanting nothing but a peaceful view of a lake.

[Who is John Galt?]

[discostu]

Nobody is saying that. But advertising culture wasn’t nearly as strong. Brand identity wasn’t as strong. Planned obsolescence didn’t exist. The fact that in modern America we even manage to market communism for profit really shows how strong consumer culture is.

[nopardons]

BTTT

[Who is John Galt?]

Yes, before the 20th Century, everyone lived like Henry David Thoreau, in a cabin built by their own hands, wanting nothing but a peaceful view of a lake.

And in the 21st Century, everyone rents extra space just to store all of the extra stuff we own but won't ever use again.

;^)

[Rural_Michigan]

The psychology of consumerism is linked to propaganda and mass formation psychosis. Very useful to be aware of and very scary.

This guy convinced women to start smoking:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Bernays

[Steely Tom]

Nobody is saying that. But advertising culture wasn’t nearly as strong. Brand identity wasn’t as strong. Planned obsolescence didn’t exist. The fact that in modern America we even manage to market communism for profit really shows how strong consumer culture is.

Sure.

A joint of mutton doesn't become obsolete after it's eaten.

I can think of several brands I saw ads for as a child, just by going to the movies.

Bovril, for instance. Created in 1889.
Cinzano, first introduced in Italy in 1757. That's not a brand? And after you drink a bottle, you have to go buy another.

It's easy to find other examples.

Hennessy Cognac, 1757. Created in Cognac, a town in France. Also a brand. Brand identity, right? It's a brand with such identity that people think its a drink. Same with Champagne, btw.

This article is specious nonsense written by an ignoramus.

If you just ignore the fact that it's premise can be proven wrong in five minutes of internet searching, I'm sure it's full sound and fury.

[discostu]

I didn’t say brands didn’t exist. I said brand identity wasn’t as strong. Those are vastly different things. In this modern world NASCAR fans buy the replica of their favorite drivers car at the beginning of the season to look at all his sponsors and change their shopping habits. What brands we buy has become a major part of our own identity now.

Not to mention the stuff that became so ubiquitous we don’t even remember its branding. Look up Santa in history. The image of Santa changed constantly and regularly for centuries. All the way up until 1931. What happened in 1931? The first Coca Cola ad with Santa. Our image of Santa hasn’t changed one bit since. Almost a century. First time in 700 years Santa hasn’t morphed in some way every 30 years or so. Consumer Culture.

The article is spot on. Consumer is huge, and did not exist until Madison Ave. These are well known well proven facts.

[dfwgator]

The economy depends on a big supply of stupid people.

[T.B. Yoits]

And in the 21st Century, everyone rents extra space just to store all of the extra stuff we own but won't ever use again.

Owners are not avoiding the tasks of sorting through such things, they're avoiding the emotions attached to the tasks.

We're missing formal or semi-formal rituals of selling, donating, discarding, or destroying items. Our ancestors never created such rituals because they never owned enough stuff to begin with.

Also, many of those items are obsolete but not replaced. VHS cassettes are a good example. The cost of replacing a VHS library with DVDs isn't worth it, and not every VHS is available on DVD, download, or streaming. Instead of becoming an video archive expert, one simply boxes them all away. The same is true of CDs and audio cassettes.

[Who is John Galt?]

True. I’ve found sufficient motivation to sell some things I no longer need; other items have been donated to charities, passed on to family members, or discarded (and like many Americans, I still have “too much stuff” ;^)...

[zeestephen]

Re: "The economy depends on a big supply of stupid people."

A Free Enterprise Capitalist economy also depends on a big supply of high energy, total focus, wealth creators.

There is no Economic Liberty without Consumer Liberty.

[Freee-dame]

Moving to a smaller place with a deadline for getting out of the bigger place provides a great incentive to get rid of a huge amount of stuff. This is especially true if it includes a long distance mover that one has to pay.