Consumer Society In The 1920s

Following a rise of the contemporary consumer society in America in 1920s, the accompanying lifestyle choices have become aspired to and as a result have spread across the ocean to the rest of the world. Nevertheless, the origins of consumer society date back to 16th century; and the real development began following the industrial revolution, when higher production required swift and higher consumption and as a result an expanding middle and working class have transformed into consuming class, while previously only small elite enjoyed higher consumption pleasure (Goodwin et al., 2008; Ahuvia and Izberk-Bilgin, 2013). While the emergence of consumer society lead to the shopping experience becoming a massive leisure activity, it also brought a hedonistic ethos towards consumption (Ahuvia and Izberk-Bilgin, 2013). Thus, by the end of the 20th century it became apparent that the increasing turnover of commodities, as well as department …show more content…
Another factor that affects sustainability is the out-sourcing of manufactured goods, as it leads to disconnection between producer and consumer, and the later is oblivious to where the goods are manufactured, how and what carbon dioxide footprint it has left, as long as they are available to them. It has been reported that it is impossible to provide the same standard of living as in the United States (U.S.) and UK for the whole world, as it would require an extra two to four planets to supply resources, such as cropland and livestock, and absorb waste form fertilizers run-off, pesticides as well as other environmental damage. It has been reported that if China were to increase car ownership to the U.S. levels, it will loose more than half of its current rice-producing land for parking areas and new roads (Goodwin et al.,