ipl-logo

Summary Of In Defense Of Consumerism

1253 Words6 Pages

Consumerism Vs Minimalism

Have you ever been enjoying some quality time with your family while watching a television show and a commercial comes on displaying the newest and grandest toy? Then, all of a sudden, your child erupts exclaiming that they absolutely must have it! That is advertising at its best. After reading Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.’s essay “In Defense of Consumerism,” one might be enticed to believe that all people in fact do want or need the things that the market is saying that they do. He says that “we want better heating and cooling in our homes and businesses. We want more varieties of food, wine, cleaning products, toothpaste, and razors” (615). While that very well may be true, the question then becomes, do we need these …show more content…

This play on people’s thoughts and emotions will continue to divide our society between the haves and the have nots. Not everyone can afford those things that the market is advertising. Nonetheless, they will continue to see the latest ads, and their feelings of inadequacy will increase until they turn to committing criminal acts in order to get what they want. I am not saying that consumerism leads everyone to commit a criminal act. However, it is a known fact that the prisons are full of people who have resorted to selling drugs or stealing in order to get that new car or house. They have long felt the division in society and feel as though society has let them down. While there are no sure fire methods of preventing crimes, it is possible to deter some of them. Wilbert Rideau in his essay “Why Prisons Don’t Work” says, “the only effective way to curb crime is for society to work to prevent the criminal act in the first place, to come between the perpetrator and crime” (187). Is this to say that if we remove all the ads from television, magazines and billboards that there will no longer be any crime? Not likely! There will always be that drive in some people to take what doesn’t belong to

Show More
Related
128 Words | 1 Pages

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

Read More
1435 Words | 6 Pages

Modern Americans are still motivated to spend on various products, whether they are useful and necessary or not, as the result of powerful mass advertising campaigns, widely broadcast through many forms of media. Children and young adults are usually the main targets for such campaigns. It is estimated that the average American child watches between 25,000 to 40,000 television commercials per year so advertising undeniably has a great power over the young minds, who in turn would influence their parents and guardians (Shah, 2010). More than 30 billion dollars are spent by families every year as the result of this strategy, which is progressively adapted by many companies (Shah, 2010). Additionally, thanks to these advertisements, people pay more attention to keeping up with the current trend, with what is considered the most up to date rather than the overall necessity of the product.

Read More
191 Words | 1 Pages

During the 1920s, the United States experienced a period of economic prosperity characterized by an economic boom and increased consumerism. This era, often referred to as the "Roaring Twenties," saw significant advancements in technology, communication, and industrial production. The economic boom was fueled by factors such as the growth of industries like automobiles, radio, and aviation, leading to increased employment opportunities and rising wages for many Americans. As a result, consumerism flourished, with people purchasing a wide range of goods and services, from household appliances to new forms of entertainment. One key concept that gained prominence during this time was installment buying.

Read More
401 Words | 2 Pages

The 1920s were marked by an increase in consumerism due to a booming economy post-World War I (CrashCourse, 2013), the increasing popularity of consumer debt (CrashCourse, 2013) and an increase in the mass production of consumer goods (Osburn, n.d.). Coupled with technological advances, families now had access to mass media (in the form of the radio and television) and modern conveniences, such as household appliances and automobiles. Radio and television broadcasts helped to build a mass culture, where consumers were watching, listening, purchasing and emulating the same things across the nation (Osburn, n.d.). Women’s suffrage granted women the right to vote; some women took this new found voting freedom as license to break from traditional female roles in other areas and began dressing and

Read More
1315 Words | 6 Pages

Joshua Shavel Consumer Nation 10/5/17 How Consumerism Changed America America is often described as a nation of consumers. This description usually has a negative tone, implying that Americans are materialistic, and in comparison to the majority of other countries, this is true. Many people accuse Americans of having a level of consumption that is actually wasteful in a lot of ways. Finding the difference between “needs” and “wants” is difficult in a consumer nation, where options are almost limitless. Consumerism can also bring about positive change, though, and this is especially true in the United States.

Read More
137 Words | 1 Pages

Consumerism rapidly swept through American Society throughout the 1920’s. This wave of new innovation caused people to buy new and expensive products, such as the washing machine and the radio; however, most did not have the income to afford these devices. So installment plans came about and because of this people began to go into debt. Another huge source of debt came with over speculation, as people who could not afford stock themselves bought it on margin. The 1920’s became all about appearance and throwing caution to the winds when it came to expenses.

Read More
771 Words | 4 Pages

The 1920s and the 1950s were times of substantial growth and economic prosperity. The two decades led to historical breakthroughs as well as setbacks; they are imperative to the history of the United States. Consumerism and innovations had a large role throughout the time periods. While the decades were similar in heightened consumerism, they each affected Americans and their ideology regarding freedom differently.

Read More
1241 Words | 5 Pages

Throughout history, consumerism has been defined and changed by aspects such as war, changes in work and production, and government policies. Americans have been able to consume more luxuries over time and have had more control over the way the economy progress and even when to call it to a halt. Consumerism has benefitted American citizens by putting money back into their pockets through policies and procedures such as the New Deal and the increase in union power. Workers’ wages have increased due to consumer and their unions have become more powerful over time. Consumerism is not a thing of the past, but rather a favorable advantage of the future that has allowed America to progress and benefitted American

Read More
861 Words | 4 Pages

The decade of the 1920s is often characterized as years of economic growth and prosperity. After World War I and the post-wartime recession, which had struck the United States when veterans returned home and defense contracts were terminated, the American community was ready to move forward and prospects seemed promising. Unemployment rates fell as low as 3 percent, prices remained stable, and the gross national product (GNP) increased by 43 percent from 1922 to 1929. Americans enjoyed their electrified homes, family cars, and new consumer goods; they bought a lot and looked ahead with optimism (698).

Read More
917 Words | 4 Pages

Some of the things in commercials could be useful and fun; for example, a birdhouse that sticks to your window in which you can see inside of. Although it may not be the most practical thing, it is a good experience for children to watch how birds live and build nests. Although a few commercial products could have benefits, many are useless items that will never be used. People that have trouble budgeting and controlling themselves would be more and more influenced to buy these useless items, and end up spending lots of money on products that they don’t even really want. This same philosophy goes for other forms of entertainment as well, such as buying many new CD’s and DVD’s.

Read More
760 Words | 4 Pages

Consumption In Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World”, the concepts of consumerism and utopia are continuously compared and discussed in tandem with one another to decide if any correlation between them is present. Although people may argue that the humans belonging to the World State are happy, their lack of simple human pleasures such as love, religion, intellect, free will, etc, denies the people of actual joy. Since the government is what controls these pleasures by glorifying consumption, the World State’s culture and consumerism must interrelate. The government's control of common human experiences and characteristics such as love, pain, religion, and free will result in the total dependence on the state.

Read More
806 Words | 4 Pages

A consumerism makes the community and economy stable which is the goal of the society. In Brave New World, the motto of the government is “community, identity, and stability” (6). Claim: A consumer economy makes the society of Brave New World which is when the most important in the economy is buying and selling of goods and services overall. Establish Evidence: In the Western civilization, Huxley would realize that consumers still make up most of the economy.

Read More
1155 Words | 5 Pages

In modern Western civilization, based on Aldous Huxley’s personal views, he implied warnings about the future of modern society throughout Brave New World. Huxley implied the dangers of technology, a big government, degrading humanity and its implication; therefore, modern citizens should be consequently thinking those dangers and how it still applies to modern civilization. If Huxley observed the daily life of modern students in western civilization, he would point out how life in Brave New World is similar to life today through technology, consumption, and how we see each other. Consumerism makes the community and economy stable, which is the goal of the society in Brave New World. In the novel, the buying and selling of goods and services are important to them in their consumer economy.

Read More
952 Words | 4 Pages

Conscientious Consumer Being a conscientious consumer is a growing act in today’s time. More and more people are switching to this for many reasons. I am using two different sources to inform you further on a conscientious consumer. The first article is Andrew Leonard’s “Black Friday: Consumerism vs. Civilization.” This article really intrigued me when I read it, for the reason of it opening my eyes more to how more ethical I could be, and how many people around the world are today.

Read More
791 Words | 4 Pages

Consumerism intrudes with the workings of society by overthrowing the standard judgment wish for an adequate supply of life 's necessities, a steady family and solid associations with a manufactured continuous journey for things and the purchasing power with little respect for the genuine utility of the item purchased. In today’s World World, there is a high level of consumption which has been described as a major threat on sustainability. Even though consumerism has positive effects like motivating people to work harder in order to improve their social status and well being, it has adverse effects on the environment and the social aspect of life. Consumerism, according to the new Oxford English dictionary, means the preocccupation of society with the acquisition of consumer goods. Sustainablity, on the other hand, according to the ‘brudtland report’ was broadly defined as Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Read More

More about Summary Of In Defense Of Consumerism

Related Topics

Open Document