The consumer movement in Africa came into being over time as a result of three factors: the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the deregulation of markets by governments which are implementing structural adjustments, and the influence of external activist organizations like Consumers International supporting community efforts to promote consumer protection. The lessening influence of the Soviet Union made economies open to change, structural adjustments took governmental control out of markets, and activist groups put community control into markets. Consumer organizations in Africa often call for global integration of foreign economies into Africa and increased external consumption of Africa goods to improve local markets. They are frequently combined with human rights interests to increase democratization, economic development, and women's rights. The marketplace in Africa does not naturally promote economic democracy to the extent markets elsewhere would because frequently African markets provide few choices, and many activist groups tie the right to access goods with the right to enjoy benefits of democracy and economic development.
There were a number of factors that contributed to the rise of the second consumer movement in the 1930s. The consumer activism of the early 1900s served as a foundation for the consumer movement that would follow in the 1930s and 1940s. The Great Depression also played a key role in igniting consumer concerns. As household finances grew tighter and consumers began to more carefully examine their commodities, Americans began to realize their poor quality and fraudulent advertising. American consumers relied on contemporary publications such as Your Money's Worth and 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs to expose fraud and misinformation from manufacturers and call for impartial product testing. These spawned consumer publications such as Consumers' Research and Consumers' Union which dedicated themselves to research and product testing to inform the consuming public. As these studies and exposes came to light, widespread support of a consumer's movement began to emerge. This included calls for higher food and commodity standards, consumer representation, and consumer education to teach responsible economic habits, as well as increased membership in consumer organizations, strikes, and consumer boycotts. Even those who opposed the second consumer movement, such as manufacturers and business professionals, began to recognize, in Lawrence B. Glickman's words, the "growing consumer consciousness" of the era. The broad interest in consumer issues led to several pieces of legislation being passed to create greater protections of quality and against fraudulent advertising, such the Tugwell Bill of 1933 which spawned more than a dozen other bills, like the Wheeler-Lea Act and the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938. Women's groups in particular were influential in lobbying during the drafting of these reform bills.
Historians generally recognize that there are two areas under the umbrella of the second consumer movement: the "professional consumer organizations " and the "social movement organizations.".
The term "consumer movement" refers to only nonprofit advocacy groups and grassroots activism to promote consumer interest by reforming the practices of corporations or policies of the government , so the "consumer movement" is a subset of the discipline of "consumerism". In the 1960s in the United States lobbyists of the United States Chamber ...
As household finances grew tighter and consumers began to more carefully examine their commodities, Americans began to realize their poor quality and fraudulent advertising.
One prominent example of grassroots consumer organizing in this period were the meat boycotts that took place across the United States in 1935.
Grassroots Organization. In addition to the national organizations of the consumer movement, grassroots organization was common during the second wave of consumer activism beginning in the 1930s. Women in particular played a key role in grassroots organizing around consumer issues.
individuals and private, non-profit organizations to enhance the rights and collective welfare of consumers
a persistent market situation where there is only one provider of a product or service (no competitors in the industry and a lack of viable substitutes of the good or service)
Prestige value caused the housing crash (living outside of their means)
a high standing achieved through success or influence or wealth etc.
dominant theoretical paradigm in microeconomics; assumes that individuals choose the best action according to stable preference functions and constraints facing them (salary)
Adam Smith's term. Minimizing the gov't intervention in the marketplace because consumers make choices that give them the greatest amount of satisfaction
when a person pays an extremely high price for a product for its "prestige value" leading to a much higher demand than a simple price/demand relationship would justify
Among the people whose ideas formed the basis of what became the consumer movement are the following:
• Thorstein Veblen, for introducing theories of advertising and the concept of conspicuous consumption
• Ellen Swallow Richards, for pioneering home economics as a science
The terms "consumer movement" and "consumerism" are not equivalent. The traditional use of the term "consumerism" is still practiced by contemporary consumer organizations refers to advancing consumer protection and can include legislators passing consumer protection laws, regulators policing these laws, educators who teach consumer policy, product testers who measure the extent to which products meet standards, cooperative organizations which supply products and …
Beginning in the 1960s–70s, scholars began to recognize "waves" of consumer activism, and much of the academic research on the consumer movement sorted it into "three waves of consumer activism". The first wave occurred at the start of the 20th century, the second wave in the 1920s and 1930s, and the third wave from the 1960s to the 1970s.
There were a number of factors that contributed to the rise of the second consumer movement i…
During the Recession of 1937–1938, public confidence in business was low and the new criticism from consumer groups weakened trust in advertising, media, and branded goods. The idea that the public were the "guinea pigs" on whom corporations tested products was an idea which spread after the publication of 100,000,000 Guinea Pigs, and industry sought to counter it and the general concept of consumer regulation over industry to restore market confidence. In 1938, He…
1. ^ Brobeck 1990, p. xvi.
2. ^ Warne 1993, p. xi.
3. ^ Warne 1993, p. 15.
4. ^ Williams, Casey (July 3, 2017). "Nader talks car safety on 50th anniversary of 'Unsafe at Any Speed'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2017. Without Ralph Nader and his book, the cars we drive today would be vastly different from the ones we take for granted. "Nader and his b…
1. ^ Brobeck 1990, p. xvi.
2. ^ Warne 1993, p. xi.
3. ^ Warne 1993, p. 15.
4. ^ Williams, Casey (July 3, 2017). "Nader talks car safety on 50th anniversary of 'Unsafe at Any Speed'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2017. Without Ralph Nader and his book, the cars we drive today would be vastly different from the ones we take for granted. "Nader and his book were catalysts for policymakers and the public recognizing that vehicle designs affect safety – that vehicles can be engineered t…