Consumer Movement and Consumerism free essay sample

The History of the Consumer Movement and Consumerism Michael J Jackson Grantham University The History of the Consumer Movement and Consumerism Consumerism as defined by the dictionary is a modern movement for the protection of the consumer against useless, inferior, or dangerous products, misleading advertising, unfair pricing. Ralph Nader is probably credited as one of the first activist that took consumer rights and the whole consumerism movement to the next level.Nader first came to prominence in 1965 when he wrote a book that took the automotive industry to task for producing unsafe vehicles. Nader was so successful in his crusade to expose the unfair practices of the automotive industry that executives at General Motors hired private detectives to harass him and later forced to publicly apologize for the behavior in front of a Senate hearing. Nader also played a key role in the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administrati on, the Freedom of Information Act and the Consumer Product Safety Commission. We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer Movement and Consumerism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page All of these government agencies have the primary purpose of maintaining the rights of the consumer to gain access to information about the safety and quality of products that were in the market available for purchase to help consumers make educated purchasing decisions. According to Aaker Jones (1982), President Kennedy also played a huge role towards advancing the rights of the consumer when he established the four rights of the consumer: the right to safety, to be informed, to chose, and to be heard.Kennedy expanded the right to safety to include the protection of people from themselves, a policy with which there is more disagreement. It is argued that people should not always be permitted to make decisions that are not in their best long-run interests even when such decisions are deliberate and informed. According to Willis (n. d. ), In order to study the history of consumerism in the United States two different approaches will be taken.First, the rise of consumerism in the United States will be seen from a general point of view emphasizing some philosophical and ideological aspects of consumerism in modern society. Second, a brief history of consumerism in the United States will be undertaken under a chronological point of view making emphasis on some relevant dates and cornerstones of consumer culture in the United States up to the present. The rise of consumerism in the United States is also linked to the birth of Public Relations.Around 1915 the so-called father of modern Public Relations, Edward Bernays, created propaganda techniques for the U. S. government in relation to World War I in order to control public opinion about this war. The modern consumer has a plethora of information available to them at their fingertips. The Internet, the advent of social media, blogs, and numerous consumer activists that are constantly on television and radio make it virtually impossible for those that wish to be informed or consumer matters not be informed. With the last decade views on consumerism and the consumer movement have shifted slightly in favor of alternative lifestyles and simple living. In many critical contexts, consumerism is used to describe the tendency of people to identify strong with products or services they consume, especially those with commercial brand names and perceived status symbolism appeal such as luxury cars, designer clothing, or expensive jewelry. A culture that is permeated by consumerism can be referred to as a consumer culture or a market culture.Opponents of consumerism argue that many luxuries and unnecessary consumer products may act as a social mechanism allowing people to identify like minded individuals through the display of similar products, again utilizing aspects of status symbols to judge socioeconomic status and social stratification. Some people believe relationships with a product or a brand name are substitutes for healthy human relationships lacking in today’s society.