Early in life, most Americans remember the phrase, “the consumer is king.”. This concept began to change in the 1950s. John Kenneth Galbraith, in his book The Affluent Society. coined the term “conventional wisdom”. He explained how what is perceived to be true continues to be deemed to be true long after it is no longer true. Conventional wisdom is that the consumer is king. The consumer is no longer king in the U.S. economy.

In the fifties, Galbraith noticed a change. Sophisticated advertising techniques developed. Demand for goods and services, which had previously sprung up in the hearts of buyers was taking a back seat. Corporations were then creating demand for their products and services by virtue of increasingly sophisticated advertising. The 1950s were only the beginning of the practice of manipulating the public mindset Continue reading →