Daniel’s Reviews > Captains Of Consciousness: Advertising And The Social Roots Of The Consumer Culture > Status Update

discuss a cultural shift from self-sufficiency to industrialization & the familial struggles as a result. As more jobs moved towards an industrial existence, more people were unable to generate the goods necessary to survive. Jobs & wages became another good to be bought and sold as part of the industrial complex. This was also the rise of the Patriarch mindset of living: the husband being the main money generator.

The biggest takeaway from this part: ad-men were very successful in playing into the fear of humanity as a selling tactic, largely fear of ostracism. Fear of being left behind by friends /coworkers for not being up with the times or fear of leaving your family with nothing in the unfortunate event of your death, etc. also very skilled in fostering an air of “trust” in the company over trust in your community.

In the next few chapters, Ewen details how the American industrial machine sought to assimilate the immigrant press as well as the works of artists, poets, authors, etc into the American commercial culture. Immigrant newspapers were co-opted to promote certain products and had to “Americanize” under pressure from national leadership.

Interesting reading so far, it’s crazy to see how consumer culture has become so ingrained into the American psyche. Everything and everyone from the advent of large-scale advertising is seen as an object to either be bought or sold. Increase in production capabilities meant increased need to sell to more people. Many companies exploiting human desire to fit into society to get them to buy goods