In Defense of Consumerism
Susan Thomas
In Defense of Consumerism
The article I chose to discuss is “In defense of Consumerism” authored by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. This article is very well written and pointed, while demonstrating the author’s point of view, relating to several topics. After researching Mr. Rockwell and his work I found that his work has been credible with an astonishing amount of published material. He has published several articles, a few are entitled as such: “Use the dollar of else”, “Operation Ron Paul”, “Freedom of Association”, and “The astonishing Ron Paul”, as well as many others.1 Rockwell is the CEO of the “Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama”. He is a highly accomplished and intelligent man; however the premise of this article is substantially flawed. In the first part of his article, Rockwell muses about modern day people, claiming that it’s a societal norm not to want to converge with new technology. “People claim that they are so inundated with techno advances that they do not want anymore. Say no to the latest gizmo!”2
This statement has no bearing of truth whatsoever. Turn the television on and there are fifty ads for the latest smart device. Today’s populace has almost become competitive of one another, in who has the latest smart phone or I-pad that has dropped. Perhaps Rockwell is referring to the baby boomer generation when making comments regarding this mentality, assuredly he cannot be referring to any other generation, as you cannot throw a rock without hitting some sort of touch screen device in today’s society. He goes on to claim that “But we really don’t mean it.”2 Including this type of flimsy rhetoric does not emphasize with his point, or make the reader feel as they can relate. Instead it antiquates the relevance of an old man complaining about the price of coffee at Starbuck’s, saying well I hate the price of the Grande, however I want coffee so it’s okay. This mentality is not the society norm, moreover to the point that
In Defense of Consumerism
The article I chose to discuss is “In defense of Consumerism” authored by Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr. This article is very well written and pointed, while demonstrating the author’s point of view, relating to several topics. After researching Mr. Rockwell and his work I found that his work has been credible with an astonishing amount of published material. He has published several articles, a few are entitled as such: “Use the dollar of else”, “Operation Ron Paul”, “Freedom of Association”, and “The astonishing Ron Paul”, as well as many others.1 Rockwell is the CEO of the “Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama”. He is a highly accomplished and intelligent man; however the premise of this article is substantially flawed. In the first part of his article, Rockwell muses about modern day people, claiming that it’s a societal norm not to want to converge with new technology. “People claim that they are so inundated with techno advances that they do not want anymore. Say no to the latest gizmo!”2
This statement has no bearing of truth whatsoever. Turn the television on and there are fifty ads for the latest smart device. Today’s populace has almost become competitive of one another, in who has the latest smart phone or I-pad that has dropped. Perhaps Rockwell is referring to the baby boomer generation when making comments regarding this mentality, assuredly he cannot be referring to any other generation, as you cannot throw a rock without hitting some sort of touch screen device in today’s society. He goes on to claim that “But we really don’t mean it.”2 Including this type of flimsy rhetoric does not emphasize with his point, or make the reader feel as they can relate. Instead it antiquates the relevance of an old man complaining about the price of coffee at Starbuck’s, saying well I hate the price of the Grande, however I want coffee so it’s okay. This mentality is not the society norm, moreover to the point that
Cited: Rockwell, Llewellyn H., Jr. "The Ludwig Von Mises Institute." Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr., 18 May 2006. Web. 08 Apr. 2013. Rockwell, Llewellyn H., Jr. In Defense of Consumerism. N.p.: Mises Daily, 2006. Print.