A Destiny of Choice?

New Directions in American Consumer History

Business & Finance, Economics, Economic History, Nonfiction, History, Modern, Americas, United States
Cover of the book A Destiny of Choice? by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May, Lexington Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May ISBN: 9780739172209
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: February 21, 2013
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
ISBN: 9780739172209
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: February 21, 2013
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

In the twentieth century, Americans thought of the United States as a land of opportunity and equality. To what extent and for whom this was true was, of course, a matter of debate, however especially during the Cold War, many Americans clung to the patriotic conviction that America was the land of the free. At the same time, another national ideal emerged that was far less contentious, that arguably came to subsume the ideals of freedom, opportunity, and equality, and that eventually embodied an unspoken consensus about what constitutes the good society in a postmodern setting. This was the ideal of choice, broadly understood as the proposition that the good society provides individuals with the power to shape the contours of their lives in ways that suit their personal interests, idiosyncrasies, and tastes. By the closing decades of the century, Americans were widely agreed that theirs was—or at least should be—the land of choice.

In A Destiny of Choice?, David Blanke and David Steigerwald bring together important scholarship on the tension between two leading interpretations of modern American consumer culture. That modern consumerism reflects the social, cultural, economic, and political changes that accompanied the country’s transition from a local, producer economy dominated by limited choices and restricted credit to a national consumer marketplace based on the individual selection of mass-produced, mass-advertised, and mass-distributed goods. This debate is central to the economic difficulties seen in the United States today.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the twentieth century, Americans thought of the United States as a land of opportunity and equality. To what extent and for whom this was true was, of course, a matter of debate, however especially during the Cold War, many Americans clung to the patriotic conviction that America was the land of the free. At the same time, another national ideal emerged that was far less contentious, that arguably came to subsume the ideals of freedom, opportunity, and equality, and that eventually embodied an unspoken consensus about what constitutes the good society in a postmodern setting. This was the ideal of choice, broadly understood as the proposition that the good society provides individuals with the power to shape the contours of their lives in ways that suit their personal interests, idiosyncrasies, and tastes. By the closing decades of the century, Americans were widely agreed that theirs was—or at least should be—the land of choice.

In A Destiny of Choice?, David Blanke and David Steigerwald bring together important scholarship on the tension between two leading interpretations of modern American consumer culture. That modern consumerism reflects the social, cultural, economic, and political changes that accompanied the country’s transition from a local, producer economy dominated by limited choices and restricted credit to a national consumer marketplace based on the individual selection of mass-produced, mass-advertised, and mass-distributed goods. This debate is central to the economic difficulties seen in the United States today.

More books from Lexington Books

Cover of the book A Theory of the Microdynamics of Occurrent Thought by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book An Advanced Guide to Psychological Thinking by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Religion in the Post-Yugoslav Context by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book The Possibility and Limit of Liberal Middle Power Policies by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Catholicism in Italy in the Age of Pluralism by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book The Marquis d’Argens by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Democracy as Popular Sovereignty by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Full Spectrum Diplomacy and Grand Strategy by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Gender and the American Presidency by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Medical Imagery and Fragmentation by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Embracing Epistemic Humility by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Nation States by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Terrence Malick and the Thought of Film by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book New Neoliberalism and the Other by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
Cover of the book Maintaining Black Marriage by Kristin Hoganson, Susan J. Matt, Alexis McCrossen, Jeffrey Tang, Kevin Borg, Joseph Haker, Lary May
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy