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Consumer Society In The 1920s Summary

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As a social phenomenon, consumption exists in any era and society. In today's world, it has become the center of society. This article will focus on American society in the 1920s , which is also the earliest consumer society in American history, and explore the performance, causes and impact of this "consumer society".

Jean Baudrillard regarded consumer society as a social formation based on a consumption-led cultural system. In his view, objects are regarded as symbols, and symbols distinguish people from each other and symbolize the social status of people who own objects. Daniel Bell regarded consumer society as a social form dominated by consumerism-led lifestyles that are keen on consuming luxury goods. As he said in Cultural Contradiction …show more content…

The excessive expansion of advanced consumption also brings various negative impacts to the American economy. Advanced consumption means that in such a society surrounded by abundant materials and goods, people enjoy those goods that they cannot afford to pay for in advance by means of credit consumption. This habit, over time, can transform what was once a luxury into a necessity. The unbalance between supply and demand in the market is concealed under the false prosperous demand. Once the financial market is in great turmoil, the vulnerability of the American economy will be exposed undoubtedly, and the economic recession will soon appear. In 1920, the total amount of consumer credit issued across the United States was about $19 million. By 1924, it had ballooned to nearly $2 billion. In 1929, it increased to $3.5 billion. Before the Great Depression hit, the cumulative amount of consumer credit-related notes maturing reached $6 billion.Throughout the 1920s, 15 percent of consumer goods were paid for by consumer credit. When off-budget circumstances arise, consumers are vulnerable to bankruptcy. In addition, in the worship of consumption, people tend to lose rationality in the pursuit of wealth and interests. Among them, real estate investment is the most representative. A New York lawyer is said to have bought land in Florida for $240,000 in 1913-1915. The value of the land increased more than 16-fold in just a decade, to $4 million in 1925 . Behind such abnormal price soaring was the deviation from the normal demand. With the bursting of the real estate credit bubble, a number of banks went bankrupt and became heavily indebted, resulting in a large number of bad loans and financial turmoil, which led to the 1929 financial crisis. The underlying problems of the boom eventually bubbled out of the crisis and turned into a severe depression. Under the Great Depression, the

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In the documentary In Debt We Trust by, Schechter talks about how the mall has replaced the factory as America’s dominant economic engine. The film shows how big banks and credit cards companies drive Americans to become sheep. Schechter is clear when he says that a bubble could burst, and comparison of the USA today is comparable to Rome before its fall (Schechter 358). Government loans are comparable to “mafia loan” because of their outrageous interest rates. In Debt We Trust shows behind the scenes of what the big banks and credit card companies do to their targets.

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The exciting and prosperous decade of the 1920s suddenly ended when the world faced a severe economic crisis known as the Great Depression. Most men were unaware of the upcoming crash of the economy and were left penniless. What led up to this catastrophe that not only affected our country but the world, globally? After the 1920’s many people began thinking they could get rich easily by buying stocks. This was the beginning of many unexpected problems such as stock market speculation, the failure of many banks, and the problem of overproduction and underconsumption.

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During the 1930’s, America faced the worst depression in the nation’s history due to a number of factors. America just emerged from the 1920’s, which saw tremendous amounts of economic activity, although many Americans had poor spending habits and lacked the necessary economic knowledge to avoid losing their money. A common practice at the time was to take out loans from banks and invest the money into the stock market. This led to a sharp rise in the prices of many stocks due to the increased interest in investing in the stock market. The stock market eventually faced a crash in 1929 and many scared investors quickly sold their stocks which drove prices down greatly.

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1 - Consumerism developed in America during the early twentieth century in large part due to the boom in industry created by Europe 's inability to create goods after World War I. Combined this with American inventions such as Henry Ford’s assembly line and Americans had money to spend (Schultz, 2013). With the advent of an electrical distribution system, Americans had electricity in their homes for the first time, which led to the desire for all types of electrical appliances to make life easier. All these new products meant that companies had to get the word out about their products which ignited the advertising industry, which led to even more consumerism. Mix into this recipe, the growing credit industry, and you had consumerism like

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The 1920’s was a time when Americans were recovering from World War 1. The economy was better than it had ever been for most Americans. There were many opportunities, choices and personal freedoms during this era that pushed religious and moral boundaries. Although prohibition was still in place, speakeasies provided liquor in its nightclub atmosphere. Corruption also occurred as politicians and law enforcement was bribed to “look the other way” as these activities occurred.

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The 1920s were the first years of the new, modern America, with a growing consumer society and new ideas and rules. America saw many changes throughout this decade, including but not limited to social, economic and political changes. Throughout this time, new values were made with the growth of new forms of entertainment and education. After the Progressive Era, the ideas of political figures changed with a new focus on conservative politics and less labor issues. With the new ability for people to buy other products than basic needs, their money went to new inventions, causing new industries to grow.

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The majority of people made under 2,000 dollars a year (Document 9) which was considered the bare minimum to live off of, the buy all of the basic essentials. These people didn’t have any money to spend on luxury items and couldn’t buy on credit. During this time, some companies priced their goods at a higher price than the majority of people made in a year, like boats that were priced anywhere from 10,000 dollars to 35,000 dollars (Document 8). With nobody to buy from them, these businesses were left without a profit and began going bankrupt. An average family before the depression with two people working full time jobs only made around twenty dollars a week (Document 7).

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During the 1950s, the American economy endured modifications that some critics did not necessarily agree with. For instance, one particular topic of debate regarded whether poverty was a significant problem and whether its basis’ existed largely from an economic or personal position. One liberal economist, John Galbraith, who contributed to the discipline of economics disputed that the United States resolved the issue of manufacturing adequately for one and all. As a matter of fact, advertisers produced fictitious needs to encourage buying (Allberry 2012).

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Effects people’s characters is prime heed for causing poverty. According to Tenai (2016) Consumerism moulds people’s characters into self-interest and a pursuit of interest’s other than those for the common good. When people change their interest in necessaries and turn all their attention to luxuries this will waste their energy, time and resources.

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According to Merriam-Webster, consumerism refers to “the belief that it is good for people to spend a lot of money on goods and services " (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumerism). In addition, consumerism may be referred to “the theory that a progressively greater consumption of goods is economically beneficial; Attachment to materialistic values or possessions “ (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/consumerism). This term brings us to the idea that consumerism influences the economy of people in today’s

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