The Consumer Revolution

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the phenomenon of material consumption is an integral aspect of contemporary society, but the 'consumer revolution' occurred in Britain in the eighteenth century resulting in the emergence of a whole new class of consumers through the rise in family incomes and hence an increase in their personal disposable incomes. The author points out that the availability of new goods, through (1) the development of the British Empire and increase in colonial power and (2) expansion and change of British based manufacturers, clearly fuelled the surge in consumer spending on new exotic goods and fashion. The paper states that the English society was a perfect breeding ground for this change and is the most significant contribution to the 'consumer revolution'; the desire to consume--the demand--was always there and industrialization 'supplied' the goods.

From the Paper:

"Economic development was the key to understanding why material objects were no longer limited to the few, but were brought within the reach of an increasing number of people. Also key to this understanding and to what our topic is concerned, was the vast metamorphosis in style, variety and availability of exotic, new and traditional goods. Even necessities witnessed a transformation in their production giving more choice to the ever discerning consumer. It is of course true that the availability and changing demand of these so-called 'new' goods contributed heavily to the emergence of this material culture, but what we must also stress that the desire to consume was always there. It was the ability to do so that was that was new."

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