The shift from productivism to consumerism had a truly seismic effect on a world hitherto ruled by constraints, authority, hierarchy and respect for religious and ideological values.
The power of the bosses was essential for the imposition of production norms. It eroded slowly but surely in favor of a democracy of the supermarket according to which individual choice prevailed without any limits save one, namely the obligation to pay for “freely chosen” purchases.
Persuading people to do whatever makes them happy had one great merit: it sold things. The advertising media set about hyping the indispensability of a host of harmful, mediocre and useless products. Relentless harrying subjected the ear, even the subconscious, to a sort of raucous waltz designed to substitute a gamut of false needs and artificial desires for the melodies of an authentic life unmoved by the oompahs of fake brass bands.
On the other hand, the illusion of individual free choice added attractive colors to the ideology of pleasure billed as hedonism. Consumerism threw overboard all the ethical and religious scruples that had smothered sensual appetites under the weight of sin and guilt. Even the ancient virtue of sacrifice, preached for centuries, now found itself in grave jeopardy.
This economic new wave also encouraged—though quite unintentionally—a critique of work, to which the bourgeoisie had dedicated a veritable cult. The moral virtue of toil and its celebration lost much of its credibility when it became clear that the chief thing work could buy was happiness on the installment plan.
Consumerism has altered age-old behavior. The liberation of women and children, concern for animals, and respect for nature have all proved fertile fields for the development of new, profitable commodities susceptible of sensitizing consumers to the welfare of babies, young girls, and dogs.