Consumerism in 19th-century Britain

The idea of people as consumers took shape before WWI, but it became more common in America in the 1920s.

People have always consumed the basics of life - food, clothing, shelter. They had to work to get them, but there was little economic motive for increased consumption ...

After WWII, the consumer culture took off again throughout the developed world.

In 1921, the radio was seen as a vital tool in debt-financed consumption. But with the advent of television, advertisers exploited image and symbol and magnified their potential impact. Many of...

Electrification was vital for the consumption of the new types of durable items—US households with electricity connected nearly doubled between 1921 and 1929. Radios, vacuum cleaners, and refrigerators followed. Motor car registration increased to more than 28 million by 1929. Payment arrangement...

In 1920, US production was more than 12 times greater than in 1860, while the population increased by a factor of three. The additional wealth provided basic security to the great majority of the people.

In these circumstances, it was feasible to reduce work hours and rele...

Economist Edwar Cowdrick advised corporations about the new economic gospel of consumption, where workers could be educated in the new "skills of consumption."

New needs would be created, with advertising to advance the process. People would be encouraged to value goods over free t...

In 1927 Victor Cutter, president of the United Fruit Company wrote that the greatest economic problem of the day was the lack of consuming power in relation to the powers of production.

But a consumer solution was emerging. Business learned the importance of the ultimate c...

In a 1929 article called "Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied," the general director of General Motors Research Laboratories stated that there is no place anyone can sit and rest in the road of progress. "It is a question of change, change all the time."

Progress was about the endless r...

The commodification of reality and the creation of demand have profound implications. Philosopher Herbert Marcuse state, "people recognise themselves in their commodities".

The capitalist system is dependent on a neverending growth. It would not do if people were content b...

Through the 1890s, existing shops were extended, mail-order shopping increased, and massive department stores covered acres of selling space.

Retail was already moving from small shopkeepers to corporate giants. The objective of making products for the self-evident usefulness shift...