Consumer Nation?

A blooming industry among pundits, journalists, historians, and others celebrates, although more often deplores, America as "a consumer society." One prize-winning historian has described the country as "A Consumer's Republic," suggesting that consumers own the place. Another argues how consumers "shaped" American politics even from the very beginning of the nation in the eighteenth century. Still another argues that it was consumer interests that "fueled liberal politics" from at least the beginning of the twentieth century. [1] Not everyone agrees on what is meant by the term. But the elements of the idea include the importance of consumer goods for recreation, for creature comforts, for self-esteem, for social standing, for the country's prosperity, and in general for Americans' access to affluence.