How Consumer Propaganda Changed America

You guys are the best fans ever! Part TWO IS OUT! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBDU_MWsD98

Buy things you don't want with money you don't have to impress people you don't like. That's the great American Dream.

There’s a reason why you are taught nothing about money, business, taxes, investing and where your taxes go to in school. You are made ignorant so you become a consumer, taxpayer and debtor

What is really sad about all this consumerism is that so many parents work hard so they can buy their kids nice things - but the best and most important thing to spend on children is TIME! Forget the gadgets - spend time having fun and getting to know your kids.

I swear this goes deeper than consumerism. The advertisers and marketers have done so much damage to society. Think about it. You don't need marketing to drink water, eat food, find shelter. They have made us believe we need things we never have.

It's sad how many poor people are enthralled by celebrity and consumerism while their communities fall apart...

I studied psychology and finance in college and Edward Bernays is a legend in both fields. Not for good reasons, he's more infamous than anything else, but I'll never forget the marketing class professor who asked us 'Why do we care about what brands we buy?' As a way to introduce Bernays to the class. Then I headed on over to my psych classes, and wouldn't you know it... Guess who we're talking about today after Freud... That's right, his nephew Edward Bernays. I instantly made the connection and all my questions about TV ads, 1-800 numbers and all the rest of it made so much sense to me. Needless to say, I've been frugal my entire life and plan on being so until I die because I just find no joy in buying things. It stresses me out to have to go grocery shopping and I need those to survive lol, imagine buying stuff I don't need.

Glad to see that someone is actually documenting these events accurately and in an entertaining and consumable manor. I studied pr and propaganda as an undergrad and I always felt like people would be better off if this stuff was common knowledge.

I became rich when I lost my desire for consumer goods. Money needs to be an abstraction, not the means to satisfy an emotional need. I had to grow old to do this. Wish I had the control to learn this as a young man. Taxes, regulations and consumerism enslave us. The government is complicit with this scam; ever wonder why the government limits the amount of pre-tax income you can contribute to retirement funds?

Perfume commercials is the peak of selling through emotion

When you realize and accept that what you own does not define you then you are free.

My favorite quotation from Bernays “The best way to predict the future is to create it”

And now we've entered the era where even if you don't desire a new object before you've fully consumed the current one, the object will simply break far sooner than it should have. Planned obsolescence will be looked back upon as something so ludicrous that future generations will feel ashamed of us for allowing it.

Thank you for this. This is one of those rare videos that just gives one a massive leap forward in understanding reality.

My parents grew up in the depression with nothing. As a consequence, my family lived frugally. We didn't have a television until the mid- late 60s so we didn't grow up being bombarded with tv commercials. To this day, i am frugal and believe more in having good friends and family, sharing food and drinks and fun times... Rather than redecorating the house and wasting money on crap we don't even need.

to people who 'enjoyed' this, I recommend The Century of the Self, a documentary by Adam Curtis, which also mentions Bernays' infamous con.... and takes the story a lot further, and deeper. the doco is close to 4 hours. there are several manifestations of it here.

I learned about him in my sociology class and was shocked I hadn’t learned about him before. Such a trip that he’s freud’s nephew and used that information for capitalistic gain. If it wouldn’t have been him, it would’ve been someone else I’m sure

The most amazing of all this is how Freud was the inspiration for his nephew that put all his ideas into practice. Talk about generational knowledge being passed down and refined! Those must have been some interesting interactions.

This consumerism will one day consume us ! Defining ourselves with the material we collected means when we lose those materials, we loose ourselves

Being in the work force age 16- i was " sold" that Lunch is a must. Once I started working for myself I realized that I could get home earlier skipping lunch. Back in the old days people ate when food was available. Im told they sometimes went days without eating. Some people died during the Winter being undernourished.