Late Capitalism In America

Words: 709
Pages: 3

Many americans and westerners live relatively excessively compared to the rest of the world and compared to the amount that is sustainable.The ecological footprints said that humanity would need five earths to function if everyone lived like I did. But I and many others are not conscious consumers, we are not conscious because we live in late capitalism that is a system designed to consumer, and that is why we consume so much.

Late capitalism or late stage capitalism is in some ways synonymous with consumerism, but is strictly defined as capitalism, in the west after the second world war. Features of the system are service jobs as opposed to manufacturing jobs, outsourcing / globalism, disposable income, and being a consumer before being a producer.
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At this time the stock market was rising, and so was the GDP per capita; it all went towards America having the ability to spend more on essential and non essential items. With this new demand, the corporations,banks, and developers provided with cars, malls, oil, loans, and subdivisions. Not only were they feeding the consumers, they were quite literally building infrastructure for consumerism, creating a feedback-loop of dollar signs. The more cars you have, the more gas you use; if your house has running water, you are bound to use more of