Consumerism After WWII America

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Consumerism is defined as the concept that an ever-expanding consumption of goods is advantageous to the economy, according to Webster’s Dictionary. This term first began its circulation in a post WWII America, when your two duties as an American citizen were to hate communists and spend money frivolously. After WWII many things changed in the home front, a lot of which had to do with the fact that the American economy suffered after WWI and we had learned from our mistakes the first time around. One major change is that the world of credit was introduced after WWII. Before that, in order to buy a house you needed at least half of the homes worth for down payment in order to be approved for a mortgage loan. That same model was then used…show more content…
Also, depending on the industry, in order to give consumers the low prices that they hold as the Holy Grail manufacturers often have to give up the quality of the product. I have worked in retail for over ten years and I see this on a daily basis. People get upset when their $12 flip flops blow out, but when you show them the $50 flip flops that come with a 5 year warranty, most of the time they want nothing to do with it. Fashion of course is an industry that doesn’t make items obsolete, but things simply go out of style. But once again, the fashion retail industry doesn’t force people to go out and buy the latest trends. We are still people of free will, and many people choose to be fashionable. That is not the fault of the industry, but perhaps society itself. So it is not only the industry to blame for this consumerist market. The people are just as guilty. I would venture to some extent that a lot of people are slightly happy when something they didn’t pay a lot for goes bad because it gives them a reason to go…show more content…
Once again, the American businessman is not solely responsible for this move. That is where the cheap labor is, plain and simple. If everything that American’s purchased was made here in American, I can’t even fathom how much higher the cost of living would be in this country. Overseas they can pay 5-10 people if not more the same salary it costs them to pay one person in America. It’s a no brainer from a business standpoint. They can get a much higher output with the same input. If I could work the same job, and make 5-10 times more I would be all about it. I’m sure anyone
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