PASCA: Penelitian Terdahulu: Consumerism in World History

Peter N. Stearns (2001). Consumerism in World History: The Global Transformation of Desire . Menjelaskan sejarah definisi konsumerisme: (1) consumerist movement dan (2) gaya hidup materialisme. Membahas konsumerisme sebagai suatu fenomena internasional dan sebagai suatu fenomena sejarah, dengan menjelaskan tentang : (1) kehidupan masyarakat sebelum konsumerisme dan bagaimana perubahan terjadi, (2) asal-usul konsumerisme modern di masyarakat barat, (3) sejauh mana konsumerisme mempengaruhi dan melemahkan kebudayaan tradisional lokal, (4) konsumerisme di Rusia, Asia Timur, Afrika dan dunia Islam di Timur Tengah, (5) isu-isu kontemporer dan evaluasi konsumerisme. “This ground-breaking study is the first of its kind to deal with consumerism both as an international and historical phenomenon.” the book presents: • human societies before consumerism and how they have changed • the origins of modern consumerism in Western society • the extent to which consumerism undercuts traditional regional cultures • consumerism in Russia, East Asia, Africa and the Islamic Middle East • contemporary issues and evaluations of consumerism. CONCLUSIONS The combination of three components – manipulation, fulfillment of social and personal needs, and habituation – serves as consumerism’s incubator and ongoing support. Shopping may offer some intrinsic pleasures, but there are reasons for its growing role in human life. Three question marks, particularly, apply to consumerism’s prospects during the early twenty-first century. Religious fervor can of course coexist with consumerism, but there are inevitable tensions. Will religion provide an alternative to consumer interests, and if so where, and to what extent? The second issue involves the new surge of protest against multinational corporations and global trade policies. Where will this lead? The third issue, related to both the others, involves the growing economic gap that has opened, worldwide, between the relatively affluent and the increasingly poor. The gap has widened steadily during the past two decades. Where will the growing inequality trend lead? Will it generate new forms of protest, or will it simply to continue to create a divide, within societies as well as internationally, between those who can and those who cannot significantly participate in modern history’s new toys? First, is consumerism making the world too homogeneous, at undue cost to regional identities and expressions? Second, will the spread of consumerism usher in other historical changes, and of what magnitude? And third, wherever it has hit or will alight, is consumerism a good thing, in terms of human values? We have seen that consumerism can affect more than buying habits and personal and family life.