Shifting Chapter Summaries

In Matt Taibbi’s book The Divide, the criminal justice system is revealed to have become a form of social control over the poor. Taibbi refers to this divide between rich and poor as “two systems in a vacuum,” where there are two separate systems depending on whether you’re rich or poor that people seem to accept. When looking at both systems in comparison, however, the system makes no sense. An example Taibbi uses throughout his book is the legal process of petty crimes, such as drug dealing or just sleeping on a park bench overnight, where, due to minimum sentencing laws, people have had to serve a minimum 20-year prison sentences. These are people that are poor and desperate enough to sleep on a cold park bench, but instead of giving them

The target audience is focused predominantly on the American population because of her frequent referral towards Americans as a whole. She uses the question, “why in the world did we buy all this junk in the first place?” as a means to draw the audience in (500). Short stories are supplied in order to support her claim of happiness not being derived from objects. She begins with a story of a holiday disaster, where an employee gets trampled to death by shoppers obsessed with getting the greatest deals. This story is used as an example of the most extreme materialism, and informs the audience of what can happen when materialism gets out of control. Quindlen provides several examples to back up her claims about American debt. For instance, she claims that debt from credit will reach a trillion dollars in the year 2010 (501). This claim supports her statement about how bad America’s addiction to consumption is. She goes on to provide several additional examples throughout her piece. Other than providing examples, Quindlen uses uncomplicated vocabulary and provides the reader structure within her article. Both good and bad aspects are provided in her piece of literature and in the end she does get her point

“But the prospect of an end to plenty has uncovered what maybe a pernicious problem, an addiction so out of control that is qualifies as a sickness.” (paragraph 2) In the famous essay “Why Stuff Is Not Salvation” by Anna Quindlen, Quindlen denounces the consumer values of the modern century. She states in paragraph 6: “Now much of the country is made up of people with the acquisition habits of a 7-year-old, desire untethered from need, or the ability to pay.” This quote unveils that a large amount of the United States population spends more money on desired items, that they can’t afford, rather than necessities. This addiction shoves consumers down a rabbit hole of debt and bankruptcy. With this, she expresses her opinion that people would

It is commonly viewed that consumption is a very natural human process, which in fact we humans don’t see as a problem. The reality of consumption is simple; marketing that is leading towards destruction. This whole matter of consumption would not exist if it were not for prestige. With this process of consumption beginning to continue, the human race is becoming closer and closer to non-existence. The human race has just evolved into a world where individuals believe, or pretend, that the Earth's resources are infinite and that they will never be destroyed. That is where they make a vital mistake.

Judith Levine wrote the book “Not Buying It’’.It is a nonfiction book about Judith Levine,along with her friend Paul,to go 12 months(1 year)without shopping . Levine researched consumerism and anti-consumerist movements.Judith Levine was led to write “Not Buying It’; because she thought it was “the confession of a woman any reader can identify with.Someone who can’t live without French roast coffee or SmartWool socks,but someone who has reached their limit with our consumption,and its effects on the earth and everyone who dwells here”.

In today's society, having the biggest and best products is valued above everything else. From new technology, to homes, and even automobiles -nothing is off limits to our ever-growing expectations. This growing trend of owning bigger and better things without being satisfied is more apparent in today’s society than ever before, and it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. The need to have the newest products is“stuffing us up” and creates a problem for future generations. The article “Swollen Expectations”, written by John De Graaf, David Wann, and Thomas H. Naylor, provides some interesting insight into the standard of living in past generations. I also conducted an interview with my father, asking him a series of questions about life when he was younger, material possessions, and how he has seen it all evolve throughout the years.

Before reading the excerpts from “The Overspent American” I was not familiar with Juliet Schor’s work. While reading however, I saw that her views were different from many of the other authors that we have read so far. When I had finished the reading I found the reading enjoyable and fascinating. The reason that her writing intrigued me was because of her multiple perspectives while writing. Not only does she concentrate on the economics of American people, but she also uses a sociologist lens to show the purchasing habits of our culture. “The Overspent American” focuses on how we as a society have changed our spending patterns from the past. During the 1950s the phrase “keeping up with the Jones’” was coined and it represented Americans trying to outspend their neighbors and friends. For example, my friend buys a boat and I also need to buy a boat to make sure my friends saw me as being wealthy. Today our society as changed in many ways but Schor finds that our spending habits have altered the most since the 1950s. By analyzing and evaluating her work, one can see how Americans spending habits have changed over time and how our economics have been overtaken by television and broadcast media.

A job as a parent can be hard, especially when the parents have lots of activities. They have to balance their time with the child and their own personal activities. Some parents choose to go do their own activities and not to spend more time with their child just like Chip’s parents. Jonah’s parents chose the opposite. Also, parents who are fine with talking about the child adoption probably loves the child more. Varying by how busy the parents are, the child will be loved at a certain strength or level. Jonah’s parents are nicer than Chip’s parents.

The “American Dream” is based on the fundamental idea that one’s social status, and ultimately their happiness, is deeply rooted in their financial success and the material items they possess. It is often believed that mass consumerism has become an indicator of one’s ability to participate as an elite member of society and ultimately complete the pursuit of happiness. However, groups also object these views of happiness and suggest that happiness is based on far more than material items. One’s perception on the correlation of materialism and the pursuit of happiness is dependent on an individual's experience as a consumer.

"I have run up credit card bills that I didn't know how I would pay off. I recognize when I am engaged in a spending spree, but I often have felt powerless to stop myself. The compulsion to finish the list and to avoid adding other things to the list - by buying them right then - has often been much stronger than the recognition that I didn't have the money to pay for what I was buying" (Spenders Anonymous, n.d.). This excerpt is from the story of a man named Kirk, who is a compulsive buyer. Kirk is not alone; many Americans are controlled by a cycle of working and spending what meager amount they have left to buy luxury items. Sometimes these citizens do not even have the money to pay for what they are buying. Truly, these people are miserable, but the idea that consumerism equals happiness and that they are living free lives is driven into American people since childhood. Consumerism and freedom are key parts of the American dream. The American dream emphasizes hard work and sacrifice, but in return, it promises the possibility of success to everyone, regardless of his or her socioeconomic circumstances. Despite the good intentions behind the ancestral ideal, the American dream has turned into a nightmare.

Author Anna Rosenberg gives a vivid example of a life story. When Rosenberg talks about Judith Levine, author of Not Buying: My year Without Shopping, she show enough evidence to prove that shopping addiction is a real problem in society and not only that, but the type of products customers spend their money on. Anna Rosenberg took her time to analyze the problem afterwards she also give some advice on her article Field Guide to the Materialist: She’s Gotta Have It. Some of Rosenberg’s suggestions to consumers were, to ask themselves when buying something if I really need it? What is the real reason I want it? What are the disadvantages of buying it? and to not beat themselves with those

In the world buying the things you want compared to buying the things you need is a consist problem for many people in America. Depending on a person’s financial situation, they might never be able to buy the things they want and just focus on the things they need. Most middle class Americans focus on paying for essential things such as: food, water, housing, and transport. My views towards consumerism is that people should focus on quality overbecause there are some moments in life that lower quality things will have negative effects.

One walks into a shop and most likely he or she will hear someone say at the counter, “No, I don’t want to spend too much money...I can’t waste money.” However, those consumers keep coming back to purchase goods that they want. This spending habit, whether deliberate or not, results in a prevalent over consumerism around the globe. To counter this epidemic, nations like Canada are bringing awareness of excessive consumerism and its environmental impact. However, the “Buy Nothing Day” in Canada will not accomplish its goal due to the short time period and the priorities people hold.

In this essay I will be outlining consumerism and claims that a consumer society is always a throw-away society. Consumption plays a big part in our lives and causes us to live in divided societies. It may make us feel like we fit in buying new gadgets and clothes and also give us that sense of belonging but we don’t take into account what happens to the old items and packaging. People do not want to look at the problems caused. I will use this essay with the evidence I have read

Anna Quindlen, a novelist, social critic, and journalist wrote an intriguing essay “Stuff is Not Salvation” about the addiction of Americans, who splurge on materialistic items that have no real meaning. The ability to obtain credit is one of the main reasons to blame for society’s consumption epidemic. However, Quindlen feels the economic decline due to credit card debt is insignificant compared to the underlying issues of American’s binging problems. Quindlen’s essay gives excellent points regarding the differences in America’s typical shopping habits. Additionally, she mentions how people acquire all this “stuff” but seem to never realize, “why did I get this?”(501). Quindlen makes her