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Last Edit: 28 March 2013
Draft
century American transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose ode he quotes, Strauss contemplates the empire of "things" and the ethics of "consumptionism" he felt had overtaken the country. He defines "consumptionism" as "the science of compelling men to use more and more things." [106] Strauss was of the opinion that, despite their differences, both capitalism and socialism were moving society in the same damnable direction, in a competition to see "which can ensure the distribution of the most goods to the people." [107] Samuel Strauss suggested the term consumptionism to characterize this new way of life that, he said, created a person with ―a philosophy of life that committed human beings to the production of more and more things—―more this year than last year, more next year than this‖—and that emphasized the ―standard of living‖ above all other values. [108] 1929: Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied - Charles Kettering, General Motors Research Director, in Nations Business: Charles Kettering wrote that: ―We hear people complaining because of new models in automobiles. If it were not for these new models these same people would be paying more for what they have. Recognition of the fact that progress is inevitable forces us to recognize that we must have improvements in motor cars. We, as manufacturers, must offer those improvements after they have been found to be capable improvements. The public buys and disposes of what it has. The fact that it is able to dispose of what it has enables us, as producers, to put a lower price tag on the new model. The law of economy in mass production enters here. We are permitted to turn out cars in volume because there is a market for them. If automobile owners could not dispose of their cars to a lower buying strata they would have to wear out their cars with a consequent tremendous cutting in the yearly demand for automobiles, a certain increase in production costs, and the natural passing along of these costs to the buyer. If everyone were satisfied, no one would buy the new thing because no one would want it. The ore wouldn't be mined; timber wouldn't be cut. Almost immediately hard times would be upon us.‖ [109] In The Century of the Self, Adam Curtis‗ BBC documentary documents how Edward Bernays119, the father of "Public Relations"120, developed public relations, by using his Uncle Sigmund Freud‗s discoveries concerning the unconscious "primitive sexual and aggressive forces"121, to change the focus of advertising from the facts of a product122, to implying the product would fulfill the individuals psychological/sexual insecurities123 (Insecurity about small penis: purchase a large car124; Female penis
Curtis (2002): The Century of the Self (01/04) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmUzwRCyTSo ".. If you could use propaganda for war, you could certainly use it for peace .. propaganda got to be a bad word .. so I found another word .. public relations" (07:15-08:39) 121 "A hundred years ago, a new theory of human nature was put forward by Sigmund Freud. He had discovered, primitive sexual and aggressive forces, hidden deep inside the minds of all human beings" (00:10-21, 04:28-05:47, 09:1010:20) 122 ".. a products practical virtues, nothing more" (15:40-16:10) 123 "He showed American corporations how they could make people want things they didn‗t need, by linking mass produced goods to their unconscious desires." (01:21) 124 ".. tell car companies, they could sell cars as symbols of male sexuality" (14:20, 18:45-19:00) 119 120