The examples and perspective in this articlemay not represent aworldwide viewof the subject.(September 2019) |
Consumer capitalismis a theoretical economic and social political condition in whichconsumer demandis manipulated in a deliberate and coordinated way on a very large scale throughmass-marketingtechniques, to the advantage of sellers.
This theory is controversial. It suggests manipulation of consumer demand so potent that it has acoerciveeffect, amounts to a departure fromfree-market capitalism,and has an adverse effect on society in general. According to one source, the power of such 'manipulation' is not straightforward. It depends upon a new kind of individualism -projective individualism,where persons use consumer capitalism to project the kind of person who they want to be.[1]
Some use the phrase as shorthand for the broader idea that the interests of other non-business entities (governments, religions, the military, educational institutions) are intertwined with corporate business interests, and that those entities also participate in the management of social expectations through mass media.
Origins
editThe origins of consumer capitalism[2]are found in the development of Americandepartment storesfrom the mid 19th Century, notably the advertising and marketing innovations atWanamaker'sinPhiladelphia.[3]Author William Leach describes a deliberate, coordinated effort among American 'captains of industry' to detach consumer demand from 'needs' (which can be satisfied) to 'wants' (which may remain unsatisfied). This cultural shift represented by the department store is also explored inÉmile Zola's 1883 novelAu Bonheur des Dames,which describes the workings and the appeal of a fictionalized version ofLe Bon Marché.
In 1919Edward Bernaysbegan his career as the 'father ofpublic relations' and successfully applied the developing principles of psychology, sociology and motivational research to manipulate public opinion in favor of products like cigarettes, soap, andCalvin Coolidge.New techniques of mechanical reproduction developed in these decades improved the channels of mass-market communication and its manipulative power. This development was described as early as the 1920s byWalter Benjaminand related members of theFrankfurt School,who foresaw the commercial, societal and political implications.
In business history, the mid-1920s sawAlfred P. Sloanstimulating increased demand forGeneral Motorsproducts by instituting the annual model year change andplanned obsolescence,a move that changed the dynamics of the largest industrial enterprise in the world, away from technological innovation and towards satisfying market expectations.
Criticism
editA criticism of consumer capitalism has been made by the French philosopherBernard Stiegler.He argues that capitalism today is governed not by production but by consumption, and that the techniques used to create consumer behavior amount to the destruction of psychic and collectiveindividuation.The diversion of libidinal energy toward the consumption of consumer products, Stiegler argues, results in an addictive cycle, leading to hyperconsumption, the exhaustion of desire, and the reign of symbolic misery.[4]
See also
edit- Capitalism
- Productivism
- Consumerism
- Artificial demand
- Geoffrey Miller (evolutionary psychologist)
- No Logo,a book exploring product branding
- Economic materialism
- Planned obsolescence
- Subjective theory of value
- Conspicuous consumption
- Fear, uncertainty, and doubt
- Keeping up with the Joneses
- The Century of the Self,a documentary series
References
edit- ^James, Paul;Scerri, Andy (2012)."Globalizing Consumption and the Deferral of a Politics of Consequence".Globalizations.9(2): 225–240.Bibcode:2012Glob....9..225J.doi:10.1080/14747731.2012.658249.S2CID67761604.
- ^Silla, Cesare (2018).The Rise of Consumer Capitalism in America, 1880-1930.London-New York: Routledge.ISBN9781315399645.
- ^Leach, William (1993).Land of Desire.New York: Pantheon Books.ISBN9780307761149.
- ^Stiegler discusses consumer capitalism in his articleThe Disaffected Individual.His response to the situation can be discerned by reading themanifestoof his political group,Ars Industrialis.