Sid Schniad:
>
>I asked if there was some theoretical link between social planning and
>ownership (which brings the public health care and controlled rents) on
>the one hand and the inability to produce blue jeans (the quintessential
>symbol of the consumer good under capitalism) on the other.
>
>No one chose to respond to that question.
I used to recommend William Leach's "Land of Desire" to PEN-L all the time
and it seems appropriate to do it once again. This is a history of the
origins of department stores, public relations and advertising in the US.
Leach makes the simple point that prior to department stores, most people
went to general stores and purchased cloth to make their own clothing.
There was no such thing as advertising. The inspiration for department
stores came from a variety of sources, including Madame Blavatsky's
mysticism. John Marshall of Chicago, who set up the first department store,
was an acolyte as was his chief interior designer, Frank L. Baum, author of
Wizard of Oz. Leach makes the point that the city of Oz itself was a
literary representation of Blavatsky's theosophy. Of course, what
underpinned the department store from a material standpoint was enhanced
means of production in textiles especially. What must be understood,
however, was that there was very little interest in department stores and
the twin phenomenon of consumerism at first. It took years and years of a
steady drum-beat of advertising and public relations to create the demand
that is still with us. The desire for designer jeans is not in our genes.
Louis Proyect
