HIST243 Lecture Notes - Consumerism, Conspicuous Consumption, Dazzle Camouflage
10 Jul 2014
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Part of story (?) rise in wages & purchasing power but you have to persuade them they want the stuff otherwise cash is nothing (cash nexus) Consumption has cultural value & is constructed. Merchants & artisans standing markets for introducing sellers to buyers. ), traders food from producers not much in the way of middlemen. All wealthy people defined by "representation" formal sets of legal categories/social orders. Louis xiv spent lots of money to dazzle conspicuous consumption. Representation continued commodities & luxury were signs of power signs didn"t just mark bearer"s qualities. How much fabric they could wear emergence of consumer mentality development of retail sector. Physical world is knowable through reason & scientific method, can understand how world works. Enlightenment applied the ideas of scientific experiments to society criticized status quo & church"s authority believed in progress! Implications for consumerism believed could improve one"s lot in life challenged notion of "representation" this upset many.
