Consumer Capitalism

Rene Descartes, the 17th-century French philosopher once said, “I think, therefore I am.” In today’s context, it may be more like, I buy therefore I am. Orchestrated wants driven by sophisticated advertising techniques have created a culture of consumption. Appetites for the latest hot things are manufactured. Media campaigns sell cool and sexy. Data are collected. People are profiled, and then targeted. Take cell phones. You have to get the latest one with all the new features. We can’t be left behind. The capitalist economic system is predicated on making money and barely considers the environmental effects down the road. That’s somebody else’s problem. In the U.S., consumerism is connected to ideology. Freedom is equated with the ability to buy things. But the pattern of endless consumer capitalism is not sustainable.

Recorded at Smith College.

Speaker: Justin Lewis

Justin Lewis is Professor of Communication at the School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, and Dean of Research for the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at Cardiff University in the UK. He has written widely about media, culture and politics. His books include Constructing Public Opinion, Shoot First and Ask Questions Later, Climate Change and the Media, The World of 24 Hour News, and Beyond Consumer Capitalism.

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