Chapter 2: Consumerism Working Against Democracy
The rise in consumerism began after World War II. Wartime production saved American economy from the trenches of the Great Depression and since the late 40s, Americans saw a great increase in spending power. Wages were raised and jobs were plentiful. The love for spending has continued, but not the booming economy. Now, Americans are conditioned to buy extensively no matter the financial climate. This unwavering devotion to consumerism has left Americans more concerned with an accumulation of items without regarding its effects to the country and themselves. Materialistic values has been proven to result in lower life satisfaction. Benjamin Barber, a principal member of the Democracy Collaborative, says:
"Democracy means pluralism. If everything’s religion, we rightly distrust it. If everything’s politics, even in good politics, we rightly distrust it. But when everything’s marketing and everything’s retail and everything’s shopping, we somehow think that enhances our freedom. Well, it doesn’t. It has the same corrupting effect on the fundamental diversity and variety that are our lives, that make us human, that make us happy. And, in that sense, focusing on shopping and the fulfillment of private consumer desires actually undermines our happiness."
Consumerism has been a method to deter America from democracy in a pleasant, servicing manner, which makes Americans oblivious to its negative effects and hesitant to change how much they value it. Here are the opionion of two seniors at Science Leadership Academy on how consumerism interacts with democracy.