Philosophy of futility is a phrase coined in 1928 by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

marketing professor

Paul Nystrom Paul Henry Nystrom (January 25, 1878 – August 17, 1969) was an American economist, and professor of marketing at Columbia University. He is most known as pioneer in marketing, and for his ''The Economics of Retailing'' (1915) and his ''Economic ...

to describe an increasingly prevalent outlook which, he believed, induced a greater demand for fashionable products. The growth of

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econo ...

had brought about a narrowing of interests, contacts, and achievements for many people in the

Western world The Western world, also known as the West, primarily refers to the various nations and states in the regions of Europe, North America, and Oceania.

. Such conditions of life, Nystrom observed, encourage a tendency to become quickly bored and, consequently, a continual appetite for newness and change and a greater interest in goods in which fashion dominates, such as apparel, automobiles, and home furnishings. The following is a quotation from Nystrom's ''Economics of Fashion'' (1928), often cited by historians and analysts of marketing,

consumerism Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the su ...

, and

commercialism Commercialism is the application of both manufacturing and consumption towards personal usage, or the practices, methods, aims, and distribution of products in a free market geared toward generating a profit. Commercialism can also refer, positive ...

: p. 85, ''Captains of Consciousness: Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture'', Stuart Ewen, New York: Basic Books, 1976/2001; p. 18, ''Our Media, Not Theirs'', Robert W. McChesney and John Nichols, New York: Seven Stories Press, 2002. :''One's outlook on life and its purposes may greatly modify one's attitude toward goods in which fashion is prominent. At the present time, not a few people in western nations have departed from old-time standards of religion and philosophy, and having failed to develop forceful views to take their places, hold to something that may be called, for want of a better name, a ''philosophy of futility''. This view of life (or lack of a view of life) involves a question as to the value of motives and purposes of the main human activities. There is ever a tendency to challenge the purpose of life itself. This lack of purpose in life has an effect on consumption similar to that of having a narrow life interest, that is, in concentrating human attention on the more superficial things in which fashion reigns.''p. 68, Paul H. Nystrom, 1928, ''Economics of Fashion'', New York: The Ronald Press Company. Emphasis in original. Philosophy of Futility and Retail Therapy: Shopping in order to make oneself feel happier is a symptom that is referred to as “ retail therapy” in the popular press. The term was first used in the Chicago Tribune of December 24, 1986: "We've become a nation measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills through retail therapy". Retail therapy, sometimes observed in people in times of depression or transition, indicates lack of personal purpose, and involves shopping as a therapeutic act that improves the buyer's mood or disposition; therefore, goods purchased during retail therapy are often referred to as "comfort buys."Story, Louise, “Anywhere the Eye Can See, It’s Likely to See an Ad,” The New York Times, January 15, 2007, February 27, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/15/business/media/15everywhere.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 The “vicious cycle” in Nystrom’s theory can be seen in many economic and philosophical arenas. Robert and Edward Skidelsky, in a father-and-son/economist-and-philosopher writing partnership, discuss that needs are finite and can be satisfied, but wants are infinite in quantity.Skidelsky, R., & Skidelsky, How Much Is Enough? Money and the good life. New York: Other Press, 2012.

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——� ...

, a pioneer in political economy, states his Theory of Moral Sentiments that “Riches leave a man always as much and sometimes more exposed than before to anxiety, to fear and to sorrow.” Advertising can manipulate those wants, and make them appear as needs by making consumers feel they are not whole or happy without their product. Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. “Transformers Marketing: Still not Transformed.” http://commercialfreechildhood.org/transformers-marketing-still-not-transformed-after-16-months-mpaa-still-ignores-ftc-staff%E2%80%99s-request. Retrieved February 2014. In his criticism of Christianity,

Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...

said "To act as a physician," he writes, "the priest must make one sick!" For Christianity to appear as the savior, people must first have a problem. Advertising can make their product be the savior of a consumer’s problem. Advertising can be particularly influential on children. Between the ages of 2 and 5, children are unable to distinguish between advertising and scheduled television broadcasts. Many countries have banned advertising targeting children to help avoid marketing saturation, and to allow them time to develop an identity beyond that of a consumer. Child advocates have condemned ads from children’s cereals for their lack of nutritional value leading to child obesity to advertising campaigns for action figures based on adult movies or themes. With the average US youth seeing anywhere from 2000-3000 ads a day, the content and intent of those ads has increasingly come under scrutiny. Commonsense Media, “Junk Food Ads and Childhood Obesity,” http://www.parentdish.com/2011/02/14/childhood-obesity/. Retrieved February 2014.

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em Philosophy of economics Consumerism

See also

References