Consumer capitalism  

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Consumer capitalism is a theoretical economic and political condition in which consumer demand is manipulated, in a deliberate and coordinated way, on a very large scale, through mass-marketing techniques, to the advantage of sellers.

The theory is controversial. It suggests manipulation of consumer demand so potent that it has a coercive effect, amounts to a departure from free-market capitalism, and has an adverse effect on society in general. 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

The origins of consumer capitalism are found in the development of American department stores in the 1850s, notably the advertising and marketing innovations at Wanamaker's in Philadelphia. Leach argues there was indeed a deliberate and 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 in Emile Zola's 1883 novel Au Bonheur des Dames, which describes the workings and the appeal of a fictionalized version of Le Bon Marché.

In 1919 Edward Bernays began his career as the 'father of public relations' and successfully applied the developing principles of psychology, sociology and motivational research to manipulate public opinion in favor of products like cigarettes, soap, and Calvin Coolidge. (Bernays was later dismayed to find his work Crystallizing Public Opinion was a direct inspiration for Joseph Goebbels' propaganda campaigns.) 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 by Walter Benjamin and related members of the Frankfurt School, who foresaw the commercial, societal and political implications.

In business history, the mid-1920s saw Alfred P. Sloan stimulating increased demand for General Motors products by instituting the annual model year change and planned obsolescence, a move that changed the dynamics of the largest industrial enterprise in the world, away from technological innovation and towards satisfying market expectations.

Probably the most obvious example of consumer capital tactics in the United States' history occurred during the first world war. During which the United States' government put out several campaigns and advertisements aimed to gain support for engaging in the war. At this time the government's involvement in the economy was known as propaganda. Advertisements, posters and campaigns were seen every were found everywhere, encouraging the public to add to the economy and consume more. Many of these public attempts encouraged mass consumption of domestic food to help put back into the economy and support the war. and In her book, Celia Malone Kingsbury even discusses how during the war the government manipulated the economy in such a way that the consumption of domestic food was made into a "powerful weapon." The government manipulated the public by turning commercialism into a sort of nationalism, pride and support of one's country.

Criticism

Critics of consumer capitalism hold that advertising is neither coercive nor probably effective, that the 1958 Edsel catastrophe is proof that even the powerful automobile industry cannot successfully manipulate public opinion, and that allegations of a coordinated effort to manipulate public opinion are nothing more than a conspiracy theory.

An important contribution to the critique of consumer capitalism has been made by the French philosopher Bernard Stiegler, but very little of this has been translated into English. Stiegler 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 collective individuation. The diversion of libidinal energy toward the consumption of consumer products, he argues, results in an addictive cycle, leading to hyperconsumption, the exhaustion of desire, and the reign of symbolic misery.

Another critique to consumer capitalism that comes more and more often from economic historians insists that the excessive consumerism is not a typical feature of the capitalist system, especially of its early formation. In "Thrift and Thriving in America: Capitalism and Moral Order from the Puritans to the Present" (Oxford University Press, 2011), for example, Joshua Yates regenerates Max Weber's theory of the protestant ethics and the spirit of capitalism, arguing that the early Puritan understanding of thrift and thriving motivated individuals to pursue the pious management of time and talents and to accumulate wealth as a spiritual calling for whole communities, not reducible to private, individual interest.

Consumer capitalism today

In light of the economic hardships the United States is today experiencing as a result of a strong dependence on oil, consumer capitalist tactics have been incorporated as a means to boost the economy. Some of these tactics include government incentives to buy eco-friendly 'green' products, such as tax deductions for energy conserving home improvements or the purchasing of hybrid cars. These tactics, however, are not without critiques. James Gustave for example, dean of the Yale School on environment and forestry and author of The Bridge at the Edge of the World: Capitalism, the Environment, and Crossing from Crisis to Sustainability does not believe the United States government should implement such tactics. Instead Gustave believes approaches more concerned with repairing the environmental issues should be at the forefront, rather than just focusing on re-boosting the distressed economy; don't just treat the symptom, treat the problem.

See also

• Geoffrey Miller (evolutionary psychologist)
• No Logo, a book exploring the anti-globalisation movement and product branding
• The Century of the Self, a documentary series directed by Adam Curtis
• Planned obsolescence