Chapter 7 -- consumerism -- Norton August.pdf
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Chapter 7 -- consumerism -- Norton August.pdf

Chapter7--consumerism--NortonAugust.pdf

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Chapter7ConsumerismFinaldraftAugust2009Consumerismisthebeliefthatpersonalwellbeingandhappinessdependstoaverylargeextentonthelevelofpersonalconsumption,particularlyonthepurchaseofmaterialgoods.Theideaisnotsimplythatwellbeingdependsuponastandardoflivingabovesomethreshold,butthatatthecenterofhappinessisconsumptionandmaterialpossessions.Aconsumeristsocietyisoneinwhichpeopledevoteagreatdealoftime,energy,resourcesandthoughtto“consuming”.Thegeneralviewoflifeinaconsumeristsocietyisconsumptionisgood,andmoreconsumptionisevenbetter.TheUnitedStatesisanexampleofahyper-consumeristsociety.Peopleareconstantlybombardedwithadvertisementsurgingthemtobuythings.Asshowninfigure7.1.,theaveragechildaged2-11seesover25,000adsontelevisionayear,whiletheaverageadultssees52,500.ThismeansthatchildrenintheUnitedStatesspendoveraweekoftheirliveseveryyear(10,700minutes)watchingtelevisionadvertisements;adultsspendovertwoweeksayearinthesameactivity.Suchadvertisementspromotenotsimplyspecificproducts,butalsoavisionof“thegoodlife”andwhatittakestobehappy.Shoppingisexperiencedbymanypeopleasanexcitingrecreationalactivity.Peoplegodeeplyintodebtinordertobuythingsbeyondbasicnecessities:alargerhouse,agianttelevision,afancycar.Theseareallthehallmarksofasocietywithinwhichconsumptionisatthecenteroflife.--Figure7.1abouthere--NothingillustratestheproblemofconsumerismbetterintheUnitedStatesthanthegrowthintheaveragesizeofnewhousessincetheearly1980s.1Fromthe1960suntiltheearly1980s,themediansizeofanewhomeintheUnitedStatesvariedupanddownaround1,500squarefeet.AsFigure7.2indicates,from1983from2007thisincreasedfrom1,500squarefeettoover2,200squarefeet.Intheearly1980sabout25%ofallnewhomeswereunder1,200squarefeetinsizewhile15%wereover2,500squarefeet.By2007lessthan3%ofnewhomeswereunder1,200squarefeetandover40%overlargerthan2,500squarefeet(Figure7.3).Whatismore,thisdramaticchangeinthesizeofnewhomesoccurredinaperiodwhenaveragefamilysizewasdeclining,sothisconstitutesanevengreaterincreaseintheamount