Consumerism and the new capitalism essay by r cronk

Consumerism is the myth that the individual will be gratified and integrated by consuming. The public fetishistically substitutes consumer ideals for the lost acculturating experiences of art, religion and family.

In corporate (monopolistic) capitalism the consumer is a target -- he is acted upon. Controlling interests commodify culture and sell it to a public weaned on media advertising. Selection is reduced, not to what the public wants, but to what it will accept at a greater profit for the stockholder.

For my paper I chose to write about consumerism. It is a huge topic where many issues have to be discussed to present it adequately. From the Marxist critique and various economic models to change in psychology and physiology of a modern human. It is hardly possible to even slightly touch each of those issues in 8 pages.

Rip Cronk in his essay Consumerism and the New Capitalism contended that the traditional Western society's values are degenerating under the influences of consumerism. For the public at large, the integrating and transformative experiences of culture have been replaced by the collective viewing experience and by participation in consumer trends.