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Consumerism as a social and economic order and ideology encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. Early criticisms of consumerism occur in 1899 in the works of Thorstein Veblen. Veblen's subject of examination, the newly emergent middle class arising at the turn of the 20th century,〔 Veblen, Thorstein (1899): ''The Theory of the Leisure Class: an economic study of institutions'', Dover Publications, Mineola, N.Y., 1994, ISBN 0-486-28062-4. (also available: (Project Gutenberg e-text ))〕 came to fruition by the end of the 20th century through the process of globalization. In the domain of politics, the term "consumerism" has also been used to refer to something quite different called the ''consumerists' movement'', consumer protection or consumer activism, which seeks to protect and inform consumers by requiring such practices as honest packaging and advertising, product guarantees, and improved safety standards. In this sense it is a political movement or a set of policies aimed at regulating the products, services, methods, and standards of manufacturers, sellers, and advertisers in the interests of the consumer.〔(consumerism ), answers.com〕 In the domain of economics, "consumerism" refers to economic policies placing emphasis on consumption. In an abstract sense, it is the consideration that the free choice of consumers should strongly orient the choice by manufacturers of what is produced and how, and therefore orient the economic organization of a society (compare producerism, especially in the British sense of the term).〔"Consumerism". Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Online. 2008.〕 In this sense, consumerism expresses the idea not of "one man, one voice", but of "one dollar, one voice", which may or may not reflect the contribution of people to society. Overall, since the end of the twentieth century, the burgeoning of consumerism as a way of life across all domains has remade politics, economics and culture: ==Term== The term "consumerism" has several definitions.〔, which is based on 〕 These definitions may not be related to each other and confusingly, they conflict with each other. #One sense of the term is to describe the efforts to support consumers' interests.〔 By the early 1970s, it was the accepted term for the field and began to be used in these ways:〔 ##"Consumerism" is the concept that consumers should be informed decision makers in the marketplace.〔 Practices such as product testing make consumers informed. ##"Consumerism" is the concept that the marketplace itself is responsible for ensuring social justice through fair economic practices.〔 Consumer protection policies and laws compel manufacturers to make products safe. ##"Consumerism" refers to the field of studying, regulating, or interacting with the marketplace.〔 The consumer movement is the social movement which refers to all actions and all entities within the marketplace which give consideration to the consumer. #While the above definitions were being established, other people began using the term "consumerism" to mean "high levels of consumption".〔 This definition gained popularity since the 1970s and began to be used in these ways: ##"Consumerism" is the selfish and frivolous collecting of products, or economic materialism. In protest to this some people promote "anti-consumerism" and advocacy for simple living.〔 ##"Consumerism" is a force from the marketplace which destroys individuality and harms society.〔 It is related to globalization and in protest to this some people promote the "anti-globalization movement". In a 1955 speech, John Bugas (number two at Ford Motor Company) coined the term "consumerism" as a substitute for "capitalism" to better describe the American economy: Bugas's definition was in line with Austrian economics founder Carl Menger's vision (in his 1871 book "Principles of Economics") of consumer sovereignty, whereby the economy is controlled entirely by consumer preferences, valuations, and choices (a concept directly opposed to the Marxian perception of the capitalist economy as a system of exploitation). Vance Packard worked to change the meaning of the term "consumerism" from a positive word about consumer practices to a negative word meaning excessive materialism and waste. The ads for his 1960 book ''The Waste Makers'' prominently featured the word "consumerism" in a negative way.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「consumerism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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