Why read A Consumers' Republic?

Book cover of A Consumers' Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America

Book description

In this signal work of history, Bancroft Prize winner and Pulitzer Prize finalist Lizabeth Cohen shows how the pursuit of prosperity after World War II fueled our pervasive consumer mentality and transformed American life.

Trumpeted as a means to promote the general welfare, mass consumption quickly outgrew its economic objectives…

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Why read it?

1 author picked A Consumers' Republic as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Donald Cohen

Author

We are all consumers, much more so since the post-WWII years of prosperity.

But beyond meeting our family needs and making our lives easier (and certainly more cluttered), mass consumption has taken on deeper political meaning in American culture and society. In many ways, our identities as consumers have replaced our identity as citizens – with increased individualism displacing our commitments to the common good.

This book walks us through the post-war history of consumerism while at the same time places it squarely in the context of cold war politics.

From Donald's list on the battle between democracy and oligarchy.