Financing the American Dream: A History of Consumer Credit Culture

Author: (USA) Kevin Calder
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The author vividly narrates the history of mass consumption life since the 18th century, with particularly detailed descriptions of how modern durable goods like cars and refrigerators integrated into people's lives through consumer credit. At the same time, the author challenges the notion that "consumer credit erodes traditional values" with extensive historical facts and compelling arguments. The true role of consumer credit is to enable the general public to afford expensive durable goods and to make debt a way of life. Under its catalysis, the contradiction between restraint and extravagance achieves an astonishing balance and becomes a crucial theme of contemporary consumer culture.