From Salvation to Self-Realization: Advertising and the Therapeutic Roots of Consumer Culture
Author(s)
Lears, T. J. Jackson
Abstract
During the 19th century the Protestant ethos of salvation and self-restraint dominated the moral landscape of the United States. In contrast, modern consumer culture is characterized by the unrestrained pursuit of goods and services. The significance of Protestantism gradually diminished with the rise of a therapeutic morality that emphasized self-realization and a quest for psychological and physical health. This paper argues that the emergence of a therapeutic ethos provided the moral climate in which consumer culture could flourish. National advertising quickly developed as an expression of and tool for the dissemination of this ethos.
