Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole [Paperback]

Benjamin R. Barber (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2008

"Powerful and disturbing. No one who cares about the future of our public life can afford to ignore this book."—Jackson Lears

A powerful sequel to Benjamin R. Barber's best-selling Jihad vs. McWorld, Consumed offers a vivid portrait of an overproducing global economy that targets children as consumers in a market where there are never enough shoppers and where the primary goal is no longer to manufacture goods but needs. To explain how and why this has come about, Barber brings together extensive empirical research with an original theoretical framework for understanding our contemporary predicament. He asserts that in place of the Protestant ethic once associated with capitalism—encouraging self-restraint, preparing for the future, protecting and self-sacrificing for children and community, and other characteristics of adulthood—we are constantly being seduced into an "infantilist" ethic of consumption.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barber returns to the clashing models of civilization of his earlier Jihad vs. McWorld, focusing this time on the expanding global culture of market forces he claims will destory not only democracy but even capitalism, if left unchecked. He warns of a totalitarian "ethos of induced childishness" that not only seeks to turn the young into aggressive consumers but to arrest the psychological development of adults as well, "freeing" them to indulge in puerile and narcissistic purchases based on "stupid" brand loyalties. The increasing drive toward privatization compounds the problem, generating a "civic schizophrenia" where everybody wants service but nobody wants to serve. His complaint is so broad that it occasionally edges into crankiness, as he blames infantilization for ruining everything from Hollywood movies to NBA basketball; even other liberal cultural commentators, especially Steven Johnson (Everything Bad Is Good for You), come in for much criticism. Barber recognizes that the "Jihadist" rejection of consumer culture is equally undemocratic, but still believes the system can be changed from within, citing the corporate responsibility movement and activist boycotts. His dense analysis can be a tough slog in spots, but the provocative attacks on capitalism's excesses will resonate with many. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

Barber, the Gershon and Carol Kekst Professor of Civil Society at the University of Maryland, has devoted much of his life to the study of the effects of the consumer market on individuals and society as a whole. His hypothesis that consumer culture has turned adult citizens into children by catering to the lowest common denominator rings only too true, even if the sheer density and obsequiousness of this examination are likely to turn off much of the popular readership. Therein lies the conundrum of reviewing this impressive piece of work, wherein Barber proves his theory that the market imperative has conditioned us to lap up the easy offerings and reject hard, complicated works. This lifelong study of the effects of capitalism and privatization reveals a pervasiveness of branding and homogenization from which there is seemingly no turning back. With the call to arms of grassroots resistance, he does offer a glimmer of hope; despite the heavy weight, Barber's work deserves and surely will find its audience. David Siegfried
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (March 17, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393330893
• ISBN-13: 978-0393330892
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #82,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Right on the mark..., August 16, 2007

By 

E. Youngdale - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (Hardcover)

I see a number of other reviewers belittling the book because of some trivial factual error regarding sports figures or celebrities, but in my eyes those points merely underscores the point that Barber is trying to make. In the end the constant media focus on these types of people is in my eyes a mass distraction. Does it change my life one iota when a drunken celebrity does something stupid? Not at all, but the media covers it for hour on end, and people lap it up.

People defend popular culture such as Harry Potter or Shrek, but these are all pure escapism and have very little relevance to our daily lives. Reviewers of those films make tortured comparisons to try and prove relevance to daily life, but the sad fact is that many people have become conditioned to not expect more, and perhaps not even have the patience to view a more substantive work.

Other reviewers insist that they aren't manipulated and that they have free choice. To an extent that is true, but one can easily argue that many people are making poor choices because they have been so deeply conditioned by advertisers. How can you justify spending 50K$ on a car, and replacing it when it is 3 years old when an inexpensive well-made car will fulfill the basic needs of transportation and may last 5-8 years instead? How can you justify spending money on bottled water when tap water in most areas is just fine? And how can you justify accumulating tens of thousands in consumer debt just to acquire all of this stuff? There are countless such examples all over the place.

And finally, there is the paradigm that runs deeply through our society that having more money and having more material goods will somehow make you happier. The problem is that these desires can never be satisfied - there is always something more, and there is always someone else who has more. In the end all of this materialism leaves people feeling empty, and the only tonic that they know to try and fill the void is to go out and shop some more.

On the other hand, if you can reach a point where you are content with what you have, you may find that many of the things that you do have are completely superfluous and can be donated to Goodwill or sold. Get rid of enough stuff, and that McMansion will seem empty, and a more modest and affordable house may meet your needs quite nicely.

78 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Ethos of Infantilism, June 5, 2007

By 

Izaak VanGaalen (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (Hardcover)

In "Jihad vs McWorld," an earlier work published in 1995, Benjamin Barber made some prescient observations about the threats that Islamic fundamentalism and consumer capitalism posed for liberal democracy. The warnings went largely unnoticed until 9/11. At which point the book was republished for its insightfulness as to why Islamic fundamentalists were bent on destroying the McWorld created by consumer capitalism. Now Barber has written a follow-up: Not only does Jihad pose a threat to McWorld, McWorld is actually in the process of undermining itself as well as liberal democracy.

There is nothing new about fulminating against the excesses of consumer capitalism. Critics from Thorstein Veblen, to John Kenneth Galbraith, to Daniel Bell have done as much. Barber extols the productivist capitalism of an earlier era, characterized by hard work, discipline, and deferred gratification. This type of capitalism met "the real needs of real people." Today in the era of consumer capitalism basic needs are met rather quickly, leaving the consumer with lots of disposable income and many options of spending it foolishly.

It has long been known by marketing executives that the purpose of advertising is to make people buy what they don't really need. One wonders about the long term consequences of a lifetime of this kind of brainwashing. Barber breaks the process down into two stages. The first is the "consumerization of the child." This is done by inculcating shopping-centered behavior in children, training them to become habitual shoppers and even developing brand consciousness. The second stage is not to have the child develop into an adult. Marketing executives seek to infantilize adults, so that they have no deeper understanding of themselves than the brand names that define them. Even though this critique of consumer culture sounds harsh, there is some truth in it.

There is also some truth to the claim that it is undermining the public sphere. A society of adolescents or infantilized adults focusing primarily on their private needs has, according to Barber, led to a decline in public participation in democracy as well as a decline in public institutions. He fears that the increasing privatization of the the public sphere that has been going on for the past decades will be the undoing of democracy.

Although Barber proposes some "remedies" to "redirect capitalism," they're not even worth mentioning because they are futile. When the excesses of consumer capitalism reach a point where they are no longer sustainable, capitlaism will redirect itself. When infantilized adults find that their quality of life is not improving with the consumption of more useless goods they will then decide to grow up.

54 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Literary Spinach (or your least favorite nutritious vegetable), not the most fun read, but it is good for you., May 1, 2007

By 

Ryan Fisher (Santa Maria, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Consumed: How Markets Corrupt Children, Infantilize Adults, and Swallow Citizens Whole (Hardcover)

It doesn't surprise me that so many reviews of this book rate below three stars. Most Americans, and I'm no different, are reluctant to consider alternative philosophies particularly when it comes to capitalism or a free market.
Benjamin Barber is not unlike every one of his predecessors. Since the beginning of recorded time every generation has had its outspoken critics who try to claim that the next generation is "going to hell in a hand basket." I personally don't believe we face imminent catastrophic social chaos, but perhaps something somewhere between our current reality and Barber's worst-case scenario.
Barber's ideas rely on the philosophies of Foucault, Roseau and de Tocqueville and more modern philosophers and provocateurs, citing them readily. This makes the book very thought provoking and in an era of the instant judgment, there's nothing wrong with that.
I'll admit, I struggled with the first half of the book and I would agree with some reviewers that up to that point some arguments are poorly supported. This being said, the last chapters of the book reveal a deep insight and yes, some philosophical name dropping. In fact, I'll even attest to the fact that without the words "infantilism" or "puerility," the book would be half as long as it is. But if this book stimulates some deep thinking on many subjects I must consider it a success.
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