> Consumer culture was created really at the dawn of the 20th century. The elites realized that in order to keep 'growth' going they had to get people to continuously 'buy stuff'
This reverses cause and effect. For most of human history, real productive capacity didn't change from generation to generation. Elites fought to sit on more stuff; there was no point bringing peasants into the mix.
The industrial revolution (and the Black Plague, in Europe) changed that dynamic. Real economic growth became a thing. And workers needed to be competed for. That gave them bargaining power in the economy, which they converted into re-tooling it away from solely making toys for the elites and towards producing goods and services for the masses.
It's always comforting to imagine some disembodied "elites" calling the shots and making a plan. In reality, our systems are more chaotic.
This reverses cause and effect. For most of human history, real productive capacity didn't change from generation to generation. Elites fought to sit on more stuff; there was no point bringing peasants into the mix.
The industrial revolution (and the Black Plague, in Europe) changed that dynamic. Real economic growth became a thing. And workers needed to be competed for. That gave them bargaining power in the economy, which they converted into re-tooling it away from solely making toys for the elites and towards producing goods and services for the masses.
It's always comforting to imagine some disembodied "elites" calling the shots and making a plan. In reality, our systems are more chaotic.