Consumerism in the United States

Executive Summary

Defining consumerism can be complicated. Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption (Fritsh). In other words, consumerism is the wants and needs of people based upon standards that are set in a given society and how those people acquire wealth. Throughout history, consumerism has evolved drastically since the first records of civilized society were recorded. The evolution of consumerism in the United States can be understood by dividing it into three basic components; trade, monetary policy and the digital economy. These types of economies can also be described as the agricultural economy, the industrial economy, and the post industrial economy.

At first, consumerism in the United States was established as trading between Indians and settlers for crops and labor. This was also known as the agricultural society. Currency was brand new to the Indians of North America. They were poorly educated and had little knowledge of how a currency system worked. So, in order for settlers and traders to establish some sort of economy that could live with and function with the Native Americans, a system of borrowing and trading was introduced. When it came down to it, the only things that became important in this economy were what was being traded, and how much was it worth to each individual. Not only has trading impacted American society back then, it has also had a snowball affect and has evolved into something much greater that we use in our daily lives.

The second part of consumerism in the United States has been the creation of a monetary policy. After the American Civil War, and once the Federal Reserve was established, people began to develop confidence in the government's ability to secure their assets though gold and silver. This is known as the industrial economy. It was a long time before paper money began to increase in its ability to become widely accepted to the masses. However, by the turn of the 20th century, technological advances almost made it impossible to copy paper currency. People felt more secure with the value of paper money during the industrial economy. As technology increased so did the ideas of how businesses could function.

In the post-industrial economy the idea of borrowing and paying on a later date made business run much smoother. Once banks and the Federal Reserve converted to using computers to keep track of debt and credit, the efficiency of consumerism in the American economy would never be the same. The idea that people could carry thousands of dollars on a single piece of plastic to make purchases was unheard of one hundred years ago. Today we are more of a service based economy, also known as the post-industrial economy. Right now, at this moment we are living the "digital revolution."

A Summary of Consumerism in the United States (from a student's perspective)

The reason defining consumerism in the United States becomes complicated is because many people have different opinions on what is the precise definition of consumerism. Some people may say consumerism is government controlled and others may say the people decide how they will purchase what they want and need. The only correct viewpoint is that many other viewpoints are also correct. You see, Consumerism is such a bulky topic that many scholars lose focus on what it really is and how it affects our society. Consumerism is a term used to describe the effects of equating personal happiness with purchasing material possessions and consumption (Fritsh). The wants and needs of people based upon standards that are set in a given society and how those people acquire wealth. When you get to the essentials, that's what American consumerism has been based upon. The evolution of consumerism in the United States can be understood by dividing it into three basic components; trade, monetary policy and the digital economy. These types of economies can also be described as the agricultural economy, the industrial economy, and the post industrial economy.

A culture that has a high amount of consumerism is referred to as a consumer culture (Fritsh). It's the basis upon which our economy has been established. The reason people founded North America was to locate a new trading route for India. Europe's intentions when investing time into North America was to generate some sort of profit for themselves. The reason the North American colonies became a self sustaining society of the United States of America was when there was a need for a free enterprise economy. According to the Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia; there are, of course, major differences between American consumerism and global economics. These differences concern the personal ownership of factories, farms and other enterprises (Phillips, 24). Before the Revolutionary War, there was nothing that could compare to American Consumerism. A free trade based agricultural society was the foundation of capitalism as we know it today. People trading each other goods and services for what they want or needed with minimal government interference. This was the beginning of American consumerism.

The Civil War in the United States was a huge turn for the American economy. Before the Federal Reserve System, people relied mainly on gold and silver for trading if they did not