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...

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...

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...

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 the late 19th-Century Britain, a variety of food became accessible to people who previously lived on bread and potatoes.

The improvement in food variety did not extend durable items to the people. The stores mainly served the urban middle-class, but the display of tempting products was ...

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 1955, retail analyst Victor Lebow remarked, "We need things consumed, burned up, replaced and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate."

A huge effort was devoted to persuading people to buy things they did not really need. Similarly, manufacturers began to design inferior items,...

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 ...

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...