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An All-Consuming Century
The unqualified victory of consumerism in America was not a foregone conclusion. The United States has traditionally been the home of the most aggressive and often thoughtful criticism of consumption, including Puritanism, Prohibition, the simplicity movement, the '60s hippies, and the consumer rights movement. But at the dawn of the twenty-first century, not only has American consumerism triumphed, there isn't even an "ism" left to challenge it. An All-Consuming Century is a rich history of how market goods came to dominate American life over that remarkable hundred years between 1900 and 2000 and why for the first time in history there are no practical limits to consumerism.
By 1930 a distinct consumer society had emerged in the United States in which the taste, speed, control, and comfort of goods offered new meanings of freedom, thus laying the groundwork for a full-scale ideology of consumer's democracy after World War II. From the introduction of Henry Ford's Model T ("so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one") and the innovations in selling that arrived with the department store (window displays, self service, the installment plan) to the development of new arenas for spending (amusement parks, penny arcades, baseball parks, and dance halls), Americans embraced the new culture of commercialism--with reservations. However, Gary Cross shows that even the Depression, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the inflation of the 1970s made Americans more materialistic, opening new channels of desire and offering opportunities for more innovative and aggressive marketing. The conservative upsurge of the 1980s and '90s indulged in its own brand of self-aggrandizement by promoting unrestricted markets. The consumerism of today, thriving and largely unchecked, no longer brings families and communities together; instead, it increasingly divides and isolates Americans.
Consumer culture has provided affluent societies with peaceful alternatives to tribalism and class war, Cross writes, and it has fueled extraordinary economic growth. The challenge for the future is to find ways to revive the still valid portion of the culture of constraint and control the overpowering success of the all-consuming twentieth century.
By 1930 a distinct consumer society had emerged in the United States in which the taste, speed, control, and comfort of goods offered new meanings of freedom, thus laying the groundwork for a full-scale ideology of consumer's democracy after World War II. From the introduction of Henry Ford's Model T ("so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one") and the innovations in selling that arrived with the department store (window displays, self service, the installment plan) to the development of new arenas for spending (amusement parks, penny arcades, baseball parks, and dance halls), Americans embraced the new culture of commercialism--with reservations. However, Gary Cross shows that even the Depression, the counterculture of the 1960s, and the inflation of the 1970s made Americans more materialistic, opening new channels of desire and offering opportunities for more innovative and aggressive marketing. The conservative upsurge of the 1980s and '90s indulged in its own brand of self-aggrandizement by promoting unrestricted markets. The consumerism of today, thriving and largely unchecked, no longer brings families and communities together; instead, it increasingly divides and isolates Americans.
Consumer culture has provided affluent societies with peaceful alternatives to tribalism and class war, Cross writes, and it has fueled extraordinary economic growth. The challenge for the future is to find ways to revive the still valid portion of the culture of constraint and control the overpowering success of the all-consuming twentieth century.
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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197 people want to read
About the author
Gary S. Cross
25 books20 followersGary S. Cross is distinguished professor of modern history at Pennsylvania State University.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 13, 2023
Gary Cross's survey fascinated me. Notably he didn't just answer the question, "Why did commercialism win in modern America?" He also described the how.
As an adult, I've lived through two of the eras summarized in "An All-Consuming Century":
* From 1960-1980. A new consumerism.
* And from 1980-2000. Markets triumphant.
I relish Gary's scathing criticism of "an ambiguous legacy." His writing is anything but!
Overall, this book gave me yet more reason to deplore the conservative backlash in America, from the 1980s on. I'd call it opposite to social justice and even a threat to democracy itself.
As an adult, I've lived through two of the eras summarized in "An All-Consuming Century":
* From 1960-1980. A new consumerism.
* And from 1980-2000. Markets triumphant.
I relish Gary's scathing criticism of "an ambiguous legacy." His writing is anything but!
Overall, this book gave me yet more reason to deplore the conservative backlash in America, from the 1980s on. I'd call it opposite to social justice and even a threat to democracy itself.
October 4, 2016
The first pages left me wary. However, these doubts left me after the introduction. Cross's discussion of consumerism in the 20th century is well-written and insightful. He focuses on all the most important aspects of the problem, including politics and everyday culture. Although the author clearly is enthusiastic about consumerism, this does not cloud his critical judgment, and he is capable of specifying his opinion in a compelling way in the conclusions to the book.
March 29, 2010
The book is a wonderful synthesis of recent literature on American consumer society. Cross writes gracefully and without undue condemnation and hysteria. He obviously finds consumerism a poor basis upon which to operate a democratic society, but also realizes the difficulty of constructing alternative means of identity creation and social participation, especially amid the rapid social change of the 20th century. Consumerism is the path of least resistance, made easy by corporations, but also by the consumer's (no longer the citizen's) need for identity and participation.
The book begins with an introduction, has two chapters on life before 1960, an interim chapter on critics of consumption, two chapters on 1960-2000, and a final chapter on the need for limits to consumerism in our modern age. The origins of American consumer culture fall in 1900-1930, its consolidation (ironically) during the "social and economic upheavals" of 1930-1960. More irony comes in the 60s and the 80s as the left and then the right removed most restraints on consumer culture. The chapters work very well as narrative and tell a full story. His discussion of 1980-2000 is the least clear in the book, in large part due to his reliance on journalism and statistics and not the clearly argued monographs he had to support earlier sections.
Overall, Cross notes that the winner in the 20th century is not American democratic ideas, but our consumerism. "Visions of political community of stable, shared values and active citizenship has given way to a dynamic but seemingly passive society of consumption in America, and increasingly across the globe."
The centrality of political life has diminished, while "a very different concept of society has emerged - a consuming public, defined and developed by individual acquisition and use of mass-produced goods. Consumerism, the belief that goods give meaning to the individuals and thier roles in society, was victorious even though it had no formal philosophy, no parties, and no obvious leaders." It is the winning ism of the 20th century and despite challenges, no "effective alternatives" have been found.
Consumerism won because it put wheels to political ideas of liberty and democracy in a simple and straightforward manner. "Consumer goods allowed Americans to free themselves from their old, relatively secure but closed communities and enter the expressive individualism of a dynamic "mass" society." The purchase of particular goods allowed the adaptation of new identities for immigrants, the working class, people making the movement from rural to urban communities, and also into the suburbs. Consumer goods became the language of relationships and provided freedom from the past, from the constraint of time and space (think radio, TV, internet as well as the car). The promise of a "democracy of consumers" co-opted class identity, as well as religious and ethnic identity. And Cross notes this is not "a political smoke screen. It [consumerism:] reflected real social needs, and ironically, often fulfilled those needs with less conflict than did other, more substantial forms of social solidarity." Political, social and religious groups make absolute claims, exclude outsiders, and are slow to adopt to change. It is "relatively easy to 'buy' one's way into a community of shoppers." "Consumerism repeatedly and dynamically reinforced democratic principles of participation and equality when new and exciting goods entered the market." Here liberty is not based in democratic participation but in free expression in the goods you possess.
America is unique in the extent to which the market has dominated other social and cultural insititutions, defining religion, and unconstrained by other social actors. "The absence of an established national church, a weak central bureaucracy, the regional division of the elite, the lack of a distinct national "high culture,' the fragmentation fo folk cultures due to slavery and diverse immigration, and finally the soical and psychological impact of unprecedented mobility all meant that market values encountered relatively few checks. Americans have had a strong tendency to define themselves and their relationships with others through the exchange and use of goods."
This was only made more easy in American industrial society which was "the wedding of technology to the pursuit of happiness." As a result, "modern technology seems to have freed modern Americans from the need to restrain desire." And in the twentieth century an economy was created where supply could outswamp demand and so desire needed to be unrestrained to keep that economy growing.
Cross notes Americans have embraced consumerism and hardly even notice it as an ideology today or stop to consider potential alternatives. "Participation in the consumer culture requires wage work, time, and effort, often given without enthusiasm or interest. But this trade-off seems natural today, an inevitable compromise between freedom and necessity." For Cross this is not a necessary conclusion. "This society of goods is not merely the inevitable consequence of mass production or the manipulation of merchandisers. It is a choice, never consciously made, to define self and community through the ownership of goods."
At the beginning of the 20th century political groups across the spectrum defined the individual in terms of citizenship. Now self is defined by goods as consumer society has replaced civil society. Cross notes American ambivalence to this, but also the comforts and comfortable peace it brings to society. "The consumer culture may be for cowards and the lazy, people who cannot find themselves and relate to others without the crutch of goods. But who among us does not fit this definition in some way?" Consumerism is a real and effective way of expressing individual identity and of creating social groups in our modern society, albeit one with high social costs (spiritual and aesthetic as many critics have noted but also high time demands in work and the loss of communal and public goods).
Towards the end of the book Cross notes, "No one has found a more effective way than consumerism to help individuals face change and uncertainty.... Consumerism does not demand self-denial for the individual to be part of the group, and it allows people to distinguish themselves without denying the rights or existence of others.... Consumerism filled a need during the twentieth century for freedom and belonging that only very secure individuals and very accepting and supporting social groups could match." This is a challenge to organizations in society, especially the church. Cross realizes American consumer habits cannot be carried to the entire world and that something will have to change in the twenty-first century to reintroduce a culture of constraint. He quite sensibly notes this will require public policy, because only public policy can regulate the market, but he offers no particular policy, only hope that some bundle of actions will be found to "control the overpowering success of our past all-consuming century." His examples of twentieth century critics do not create great hope that this can be accomplished and maintained on a national scale.
The book begins with an introduction, has two chapters on life before 1960, an interim chapter on critics of consumption, two chapters on 1960-2000, and a final chapter on the need for limits to consumerism in our modern age. The origins of American consumer culture fall in 1900-1930, its consolidation (ironically) during the "social and economic upheavals" of 1930-1960. More irony comes in the 60s and the 80s as the left and then the right removed most restraints on consumer culture. The chapters work very well as narrative and tell a full story. His discussion of 1980-2000 is the least clear in the book, in large part due to his reliance on journalism and statistics and not the clearly argued monographs he had to support earlier sections.
Overall, Cross notes that the winner in the 20th century is not American democratic ideas, but our consumerism. "Visions of political community of stable, shared values and active citizenship has given way to a dynamic but seemingly passive society of consumption in America, and increasingly across the globe."
The centrality of political life has diminished, while "a very different concept of society has emerged - a consuming public, defined and developed by individual acquisition and use of mass-produced goods. Consumerism, the belief that goods give meaning to the individuals and thier roles in society, was victorious even though it had no formal philosophy, no parties, and no obvious leaders." It is the winning ism of the 20th century and despite challenges, no "effective alternatives" have been found.
Consumerism won because it put wheels to political ideas of liberty and democracy in a simple and straightforward manner. "Consumer goods allowed Americans to free themselves from their old, relatively secure but closed communities and enter the expressive individualism of a dynamic "mass" society." The purchase of particular goods allowed the adaptation of new identities for immigrants, the working class, people making the movement from rural to urban communities, and also into the suburbs. Consumer goods became the language of relationships and provided freedom from the past, from the constraint of time and space (think radio, TV, internet as well as the car). The promise of a "democracy of consumers" co-opted class identity, as well as religious and ethnic identity. And Cross notes this is not "a political smoke screen. It [consumerism:] reflected real social needs, and ironically, often fulfilled those needs with less conflict than did other, more substantial forms of social solidarity." Political, social and religious groups make absolute claims, exclude outsiders, and are slow to adopt to change. It is "relatively easy to 'buy' one's way into a community of shoppers." "Consumerism repeatedly and dynamically reinforced democratic principles of participation and equality when new and exciting goods entered the market." Here liberty is not based in democratic participation but in free expression in the goods you possess.
America is unique in the extent to which the market has dominated other social and cultural insititutions, defining religion, and unconstrained by other social actors. "The absence of an established national church, a weak central bureaucracy, the regional division of the elite, the lack of a distinct national "high culture,' the fragmentation fo folk cultures due to slavery and diverse immigration, and finally the soical and psychological impact of unprecedented mobility all meant that market values encountered relatively few checks. Americans have had a strong tendency to define themselves and their relationships with others through the exchange and use of goods."
This was only made more easy in American industrial society which was "the wedding of technology to the pursuit of happiness." As a result, "modern technology seems to have freed modern Americans from the need to restrain desire." And in the twentieth century an economy was created where supply could outswamp demand and so desire needed to be unrestrained to keep that economy growing.
Cross notes Americans have embraced consumerism and hardly even notice it as an ideology today or stop to consider potential alternatives. "Participation in the consumer culture requires wage work, time, and effort, often given without enthusiasm or interest. But this trade-off seems natural today, an inevitable compromise between freedom and necessity." For Cross this is not a necessary conclusion. "This society of goods is not merely the inevitable consequence of mass production or the manipulation of merchandisers. It is a choice, never consciously made, to define self and community through the ownership of goods."
At the beginning of the 20th century political groups across the spectrum defined the individual in terms of citizenship. Now self is defined by goods as consumer society has replaced civil society. Cross notes American ambivalence to this, but also the comforts and comfortable peace it brings to society. "The consumer culture may be for cowards and the lazy, people who cannot find themselves and relate to others without the crutch of goods. But who among us does not fit this definition in some way?" Consumerism is a real and effective way of expressing individual identity and of creating social groups in our modern society, albeit one with high social costs (spiritual and aesthetic as many critics have noted but also high time demands in work and the loss of communal and public goods).
Towards the end of the book Cross notes, "No one has found a more effective way than consumerism to help individuals face change and uncertainty.... Consumerism does not demand self-denial for the individual to be part of the group, and it allows people to distinguish themselves without denying the rights or existence of others.... Consumerism filled a need during the twentieth century for freedom and belonging that only very secure individuals and very accepting and supporting social groups could match." This is a challenge to organizations in society, especially the church. Cross realizes American consumer habits cannot be carried to the entire world and that something will have to change in the twenty-first century to reintroduce a culture of constraint. He quite sensibly notes this will require public policy, because only public policy can regulate the market, but he offers no particular policy, only hope that some bundle of actions will be found to "control the overpowering success of our past all-consuming century." His examples of twentieth century critics do not create great hope that this can be accomplished and maintained on a national scale.
September 7, 2020
I can feel like an alien in my own land sometimes. This is particularly true about shopping or watching TV because these mass activities feel so generic and empty. They so leave me cold that when I am among large group of people (back in pre-Covid days) I generally feel numb, irritated and shut-down. But what is wrong with me that I'm not a good consumer? I thought this book might explain the evolution of what has happened and from which I feel left out.
The book is well researched and written. Mr. Cross charts how as consumerism grew up in the 20th century it spread it's tentacles into more parts of life but early on a few were considered sacred. Those were that the life of the child should remain relatively innocence of the incessant demand pitches for purchasing this or that product or service. Also the home shouldn't be bombarded with commercial messages. It should remain the bastion of family life and its values. Religion also was seen as cordoned off from commercial elements until the restrictions on laboring on the Sabbath became increasingly blurred.
The book then looks at how despite week pro-consumer efforts in the thirties and then fifties, the last thirty years have seen a resurgent and more technologically savvy consumerism erode any commercial free spaces in the society. While I agree that this is true, I don't think that this happen is surprising given capitalism. Cross seems to give capitalism a pass in the development of rampant consumerism which I don't understand unless he simply doesn't see the underlying dynamic of our economic imperative.
In one brief passage he mentions how consumerism grew because of the 'the unimpeded pressure of the markets to expand.' But why is there this pressure to expand? It comes from capitalism itself which must like a shark move relentlessly forward or it dies. Capitalism is is a terrific way to geometric provide wealth even for labor but once a certain kind of growth occurs anything less than that creates fear and doubt.
For example, starting in the late 1970s, China's economic growth was at a double digit pace for many years. When the economy starting growing at a less dramatic pace but still growing more rapidly than anywhere else, it was a source of fear and potential panic. Public companies are treated the same way. If a public company earns 30% more profit than the quarter before that is great but if the next quarter its profits grow only 5%, it is likely the stock will tank. Remember, this company is still making money and in fact more money than it did the quarter before but its rate of growth has slowed and for capitalism that is always a warning sign of failure and possible collapse.
There is only so much efficiency that can be squeezed out of workers. It is easier to gain profit by creating a new market for growth. For example, if a company makes money by collecting and selling your personal information to businesses but is sloppy in how well it protects your data, why not sell you identity protection so that it can profit off the fear its creates by its own incompetence? And now your role as a consumer has grown even greater. You are no longer just a consumer who pays for credit reports on yourself, you are a consumer of identity protection insurance. So this dynamic is probably a greater driver than any specific cultural, economic or political event might suggest.
The book is well researched and written. Mr. Cross charts how as consumerism grew up in the 20th century it spread it's tentacles into more parts of life but early on a few were considered sacred. Those were that the life of the child should remain relatively innocence of the incessant demand pitches for purchasing this or that product or service. Also the home shouldn't be bombarded with commercial messages. It should remain the bastion of family life and its values. Religion also was seen as cordoned off from commercial elements until the restrictions on laboring on the Sabbath became increasingly blurred.
The book then looks at how despite week pro-consumer efforts in the thirties and then fifties, the last thirty years have seen a resurgent and more technologically savvy consumerism erode any commercial free spaces in the society. While I agree that this is true, I don't think that this happen is surprising given capitalism. Cross seems to give capitalism a pass in the development of rampant consumerism which I don't understand unless he simply doesn't see the underlying dynamic of our economic imperative.
In one brief passage he mentions how consumerism grew because of the 'the unimpeded pressure of the markets to expand.' But why is there this pressure to expand? It comes from capitalism itself which must like a shark move relentlessly forward or it dies. Capitalism is is a terrific way to geometric provide wealth even for labor but once a certain kind of growth occurs anything less than that creates fear and doubt.
For example, starting in the late 1970s, China's economic growth was at a double digit pace for many years. When the economy starting growing at a less dramatic pace but still growing more rapidly than anywhere else, it was a source of fear and potential panic. Public companies are treated the same way. If a public company earns 30% more profit than the quarter before that is great but if the next quarter its profits grow only 5%, it is likely the stock will tank. Remember, this company is still making money and in fact more money than it did the quarter before but its rate of growth has slowed and for capitalism that is always a warning sign of failure and possible collapse.
There is only so much efficiency that can be squeezed out of workers. It is easier to gain profit by creating a new market for growth. For example, if a company makes money by collecting and selling your personal information to businesses but is sloppy in how well it protects your data, why not sell you identity protection so that it can profit off the fear its creates by its own incompetence? And now your role as a consumer has grown even greater. You are no longer just a consumer who pays for credit reports on yourself, you are a consumer of identity protection insurance. So this dynamic is probably a greater driver than any specific cultural, economic or political event might suggest.
December 21, 2020
Not bad. Certainly the author knows his stuff. I just found it didn’t keep my interest as much as I’d hoped. The analysis was good though.
abandoned
February 11, 2021Entirely too depressing.
February 16, 2024
An informative, yet out of date book about how Americans love to consume- and its this love for the consumption of goods, for necessity, for entertainment, to fit in socially- is why capitalism still rules the United States. Though the politics of our country does shift the pendulum from time to time- at the end of the day, it is the need to consume, influenced by a myriad of social, economical and political factors are why commercialism still thrives.
February 18, 2016
Consumerism as an ideology was not advocated by any party, was not part of any government program, never had an activists to support, and did not have any armies to advance it.
Yet it conquered the world. It has to be the most successful ideology.
Yet it conquered the world. It has to be the most successful ideology.
June 29, 2007
If you are consumed with American capitalism consumption behaviors and how it all developed - great read. In-depth. A little heavy, but how could it not be?
December 31, 2010
A good history of consumerism in the U.S. in the 20th century. Very informative and a good overview, and interesting/well-written, too.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews