In 1925, General Motors launched the yearly automobile model change.  This change introduced the notion that it was no longer relevant whether a product still worked or retained its usefulness.  What mattered was having the latest style.  Many historians call this the beginning of the modern day American consumer culture.  Even though the Great Depression that followed slowed the march, it didn’t stop it.  The optimism and economic growth that followed World War II began a new chapter which eventually became the (over) consumer culture we live in today.  I believe that greed is a human quality, present in any economic or political system.  However, the extent to which greed has been normalized in our culture is unique.  While there continue to be voices of dissent, a great majority of Americans have embraced the “dogged pursuit of the American Dream.”

© Salahub 2003