buy houses, television sets, and sometimes even more than one car. Even the poorest twenty percent of our country had more money than most foreign countries. We were a country to be both feared and envied. Countries around the world at the same time were experiencing extreme hardship. There was starvation in Japan, communism and poverty in Germany, and a famine that killed almost 50 million in China. Many poor countries came to believe that America’s extreme wealth was the cause of their poverty, however, still more believed that America should be a model for their countries. They felt that America’s prosperity and materialism was something to strive for; a goal for their future. America was, therefore, viewed in a confusing light, both resented and aspired by poorer countries. Daniel Bell, a social critic, had a unique insight on how consumer culture was affecting American society when he wrote, The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism. He said that America had become divided into two worlds or cultures. The first was the traditional 19th century work ethic; where values included, “self-discipline, delayed gratification, and restraint.” This culture was a culture focused on production, where people took pride in their hard work, and eventually received gratification from the final product. The second division of American society was in complete contradiction to the first. This was a culture based on consumption; where the number one value was instant gratification. The consumer culture blinded by prosperity began to find pleasure only by purchasing material items, not by sacrificing hard work to receive a positive outcome. The contradiction of these to American cultures is frightening to Daniel Bell, for he believes that the two will not exist together for very long. He believes the consumer culture will slowly dissolve into every area of American life. People will no longer need to work hard at...
