Research Paper on:
Mass Consumerism's Origin and its Impact

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
allowed the mass production of goods in a more const effective manner than ever before For example, the workers in the Ford factory that produced the Model T were some  of the first working class individuals that were able to afford to buy a car of their own. However, this did not cause mass consumerism, it merely facilitated the later  moves that were influential. The development of mass consumerism may be seen as starting in the United States following World War II. The country had faced the war, but  unlike Europe, the industries had not suffered devastation and the countrys infrastructure was still on tact. Therefore, they needed to produce something. This created a void which resulted in increased  advertising to stimulate new markets. This time is referred to as the golden age of consumerism in the United States, the same phenomena spread, economies were doing well with the  recovery following the war and consumerism spread thought Europe. Japan built on this able to produce more good quality goods as a cheaper price, causing an almost collapse in many  western industries. These changes in society were the those that facilitated and saw the creation of mass consumerism. However, to look at this in more detail the role of consumerism  and the way it fits in with mass culture can be used to determine what mass consumerism is and how it is impacting on society. In terms of social  structures and value models capitalism must be seen as associated with mass consumerism (Bilton et al, 2000). Mass consumption had began in the early twentieth century, mass consumerism is a  logical step (Bilton et al, 2000). Consumerism can be classified as "a culture centred on the promotion, sale and acquisition of consumer goods" (Bilton et al, 2000). Mass consumerism is