Summary Of Sincerity And Authenticity By Lionel Trilling

With the current economic state being that the ‘wealthiest 1% will soon own more than the rest of the world’s population’ (Oxfam International, 2015).
If the wealthy have it all and continue to want more, how are they going about this. The money is made from consumers purchasing goods and the profits going to the companies. If it is really as the report suggests, that the wealthy have it all and continue to want more, is this as a result of consumerism. How are they going about this in a time where adverts are skipped. When looking at consumerism as an ideology to live by, it is often conceived in a negative light with statements such as “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like”(Ramsey, 2009). But how do we get the public to buy the things they don’t need. It seems that this is currently about rendering an authentic experience. There have been many different ideas generated about how to go about gaining customers to purchase your products. This essay will be focusing on how creating this experience has evolved.
The experience side of consumerism is about what consumers are wanting and the fundamental change that’s happening in the current modern economy. To discuss this, this essay will briefly
“And this above all: to thine own self be true. And it doth follow, as night the day, that thou canst not then be false to any man.” (Shakespeare, 1992). This line from Hamlet is actually summarising the core to authenticity, the two core aspects of it are; being true to yourself and being what you say you are to others. These elements of the authentic experience need to be demonstrated to the consumer, however the idea of only one of the core aspects being true, leaves the possibility of the other to be