RE: [pf] we took the wrong track, in the '50s and '60s

by David A

05 December 2000 22:56 UTC

Fitzsimmons, Diane wrote:
> The watershed of WW2 must be factored in.  A greater sense 
> of entitlement (I mean that in the most positive way possible) 
> arose in all who participated in that: the GIs of all races, the 
> women who took jobs of greater responsibility, people who 
> sacrificed material goods (not to mention loved ones) for the war > 
> effort.  "I lived through that horror; I want to enjoy the
> fruits of my labor." 

Add to that the advances in the science of marketing beginning about 
that time. Marketers studied human behavior in depth and learned well 
how to take advantage of those behaviors to sell their products. To read 
more try "Coercion" by Douglas Rushkoff.

I'm not sure I agree with Betsy that our uber-consumerism began with the 
Industrial Revolution. That revolution, coupled with the advent of 
electricity, opened up vast new technological possibilities that I think 
anyone would have taken advantage of. I think we easily forget how 
difficult life was in the 19th century -- how medical problems we now 
fix routinely could end a person's productive life, how much their way 
of living -- the amount and impact of the manual labor required, the 
degree of general uncleanliness compared to today, the general 
difficulty of life that required pumping your own water, going to the 
outhouse, the effort of transportation, etc. etc. -- took a severe toll 
on their lives. What was the average American life span in the year 
1900? -- somewhere just less than 50 years, I think. It was a hard life. 
Indoor plumbing, central heating, refrigeration -- all were great 
improvements in health. (In Laurie Garrett's (medical reporter for 
Newsday) new book, Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public 
Health, she talks of how none of the advanced medical technologies of 
our time have had nowhere near the impact or saved the lives of basic 
public health programs that delivered clean water, sufficient nutrition, 
sewage control, epidemic control, immunization, education and literacy, 
prenatal, maternal, and child health programs.) Much, much changed from 
1850 to WW1...by WW2 we were only then ready to leap into unnecessary 
consumerism, and marketers understood that and took full advantage of 
it, it seems to me.

David