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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 14 page research paper that discusses how, after World War II, a culture of consumption and consumerism emerged in Canada, and elsewhere in the industrialized world, during the 1950s and 60s. This culture was radically different in many ways from the society that preceded it. This sociological development has had far reaching environmental ramifications that are currently impacting society by affecting climate change, as well as forcing people to cope with increased levels of pollution and the effects of hazardous waste. The writer explores how consumption culture has impacted the Canadian environment and the social forces that propelled this dramatic societal change. Bibliography lists 10 sources.
Page Count:
14 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khcaneco.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
This culture was radically different in many ways from the society that preceded it. This sociological development has had far reaching environmental ramifications that are currently impacting society by affecting
climate change, as well as forcing people to cope with increased levels of pollution and the effects of hazardous waste. However, in order to appreciate fully how consumption culture has
impacted the Canadian environment, it is first necessary to understand the social forces that propelled this dramatic societal change. Why a consumer culture emerged after World War II During the
war years in Canada, consumer goods were simply unavailable, as the countrys industrial capacity was entirely geared towards war. For example, by 1941, the production of a variety of appliances
was highly restricted in order to conserve metal for war material (Owram 9-10). "Refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, washing machines and a host of other goods" were not generally available to the
buying public (Owram 10). Even if a consumer could find a car to buy, its use was also highly restricted as the average Canadian was allowed the use of only
120 gallons of gas per year by 1943 (Owram 10). Small consumer goods were also difficult to find and, in many cases, restricted. Grocery shopping during the war years
was not, as it had been during the Depression, a function of what the consumer could afford, bur rather what the then could find (Owram 10). A woman described this
situation in 1943 by saying that "Shopping is becoming more and more like a treasure hunt" (Owram 10). Post-World War II Canada offered a far different sociological scenario. After having
gone through a decade of depression and six years of war, in the 1950s, Canadians were "bursting with optimism," which was prompted by economic prosperity in which mass consumerism flourished,
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