Consumer economy you say

[steve74baywin]

I have heard of Edward Barnay's before. But just now found a video the BBC did.
It will be removed from youtube on April 29th.
It is called Happiness Machine
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 0296627941#

This is good, ten minutes into it and two things of interest.
Edward Barnay was asked to head up a commitee, the word propaganda had a negative connotations due to Hitler, so they came up with term "public relations", hence the group was formed.
Later he was asked to help get woman to smoke cigarettes.

[turk]

Interesting. Don't blaspheme the sacred cow of consumerism on this board now Steve. You will upset consensus, and the common good, which is all we have to "combat" chaos, remember.

[Amskeptic]

Don't blaspheme the sacred[/color] cow of consumerism on this board now Steve. You will upset consensus, and the common good, which is all we have to "combat" chaos, remember.

What are you talking about? Can you support this latest invention of yours?
Sacred cow?

When I wrote, "like it or not, we are a consumer society", you can bet your last dime that I am one of the "or not" people. What "consensus" of consumerism?
Is this some sort of sick effort to suck Steve into your orbit? Can we please be the individuals we actually are with our own individual opinions without having to conform to your imaginary polarity? Just looking at your trigger words pisses me off, because they are so pathetically reductive and constricting. I pray that Steve has no need to take sides inside of your world view.
Colin

[steve74baywin]

Colin,
Later on towards the end of that video it mentions how private business ask him to help promote capitalism to counteract Roosevelt who was saying the government had to be behind the new jobs. You might find that interesting. Lots of neat stuff.
Come to find out that video is part one of a four part series called
The Century of the Self.
I am watching part two now.

[ruckman101]

Isn't a "Free Market" economy predicated on consumerism?


neal

[steve74baywin]

Isn't a "Free Market" economy predicated on consumerism?


neal

Interesting. Good point.
One could say that with just a natural supply and demand, people consume, so yes.
The term consumerism is used alot to point out an excess, or a condition not normal.
People obsessed with consuming more than what is needed for life.

[ruckman101]

Weren't we all initially encouraged to consume by the shrub in an effort to save our economy?


neal

[glasseye]

Weren't we all initially encouraged to consume by the shrub in an effort to save our economy?
neal

SPROINGGGGG! I love it.

[Amskeptic]

Weren't we all initially encouraged to consume by the shrub in an effort to save our economy?
neal

SPROINGGGGG! I love it.

Yes we were. Consumer spending now accounts for 70% of our economic output. Like it or not.
Colin

[ruckman101]

Ok, so I watched it. Wow. The experiment by the elites to control the masses continues. And only part one of four, eh? The standard elite mindset, that the masses are irrational sub-human (eugenics), compared to the elites, that need to be controlled for their own good continues.

Hitler ran with it, flogging the original Bernays propaganda model, while Roosevelt felt the masses were actually capable of thought and should be allowed to participate in governance through democracy. Nothing to fear, vs everything to fear. Being one of the masses, I'm going to have to side with Roosevelt. People at their core aren't irrational beasts, we all struggle for the same goals of security, warmth, food, water, peace.

Consumerism based on emotion, not need, is but another tool by the elites to control the great "unwashed". I can afford the newest 3-D XBox. Gotta have distractions, and it is so not yesterday's nintendo.

I especially liked the corporate push back to the New Deal, "Get government out of business and leave us alone" or something along those lines. Boy does that ring in my ears like a drumbeat from the conservative side of politics...still. Oh yeah, that's what happened to necessitate the need for the New Deal. Corporate greed brought the whole thing down. Round and round we go. Nothing new.

Although I wouldn't go so far as to suggest Noam's term, manufacturing consent, was stolen, but it does echo with the much earlier term, engineering consent.


neal

[ruckman101]

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/4/21/t ... h_brothers

Ouch, reverberations. Echoes. Not since....

[steve74baywin]

Good summary Neal, that is what was needed. I was trying to see if I could remember most of the little points that I liked and do a summary, but hadn't gotten to that point yet.
I watched part one and two, I almost finished three last night. I think I am going to watch the Democracy Now vid before I continue with the BBC one.
I need to make myself a small to do list, I need to get a few minor things done before I get to into vids and posting.

[Elwood]

Hi Steve, welcome back to the IAC. Ive missed your take on life and all things thinkin' men say.

Watched part one this morning and will get back to more of that great program , thanks for posting it. I must go out now and buy some cigarretts , I feel the need for somthing???

Barb

[steve74baywin]

Hi Steve, welcome back to the IAC. Ive missed your take on life and all things thinkin' men say.

Watched part one this morning and will get back to more of that great program , thanks for posting it. I must go out now and buy some cigarretts , I feel the need for somthing???

Barb

Ah, your too funny.
I was wondering about you and others that I hadn't seen a post from since I've been around, which has been for a week or so now.
Good to hear from you, glad your enjoying the video.
I need to finish the third part here soon.

[turk]

Here's my question: is there someone, or some entity, behind a massive effort to control everyone? Or is it that an ample amount of people want to be controlled? And therefore, there are plenty of people willing to play the role (of the controller). In other words: some psychological theory gets a lot of attention; people and academia buy it for a century, then throw it in the trash for the next shiny object/theory; meanwhile all the circumstantial flotsam of the last century is still entrenched in the collective culture in the form of popular consumerism, et al.. Now you have successive generations of people brought up in an increasingly ramped up pace of media consumption - read, less critical, more self-interested -, and thinking for one's self becomes less acceptable for obvious reasons.