German for Business and Economics, Band 1, Die Volks-und Weltwirtschaft

Book Description

The Consumer Trap blows the lid off the trillion-dollar-a-year business marketing industry, explaining how it continues to soak up economic and environmental resources and dominate the personal lives of citizens. Flouting conventional mainstream and radical thinking about consumer culture, Michael Dawson reveals how corporate marketing embodies and extends into personal life the scientific management principles famously enunciated by Frederick Winslow Taylor, whose earliest disciples predicted the big business marketing revolution.

After revealing why corporate capitalism fuels an ever-increasing marketing race, Dawson provides a step-by-step account of how this behemoth works and expands. Using firsthand evidence, he explains in detail how big business marketing campaigns penetrate and profoundly affect the lives of ordinary Americans.

Dawson argues that if people are to escape the costly consumer trap set by the overclass, they will need to renew class struggle from below, inventing new institutions for democratically governing and implementing major economic decisions. A blueprint for reinventing the study and debate of the sociocultural effects of corporate marketing practices, The Consumer Trap makes big business marketing a target of direct historical and sociological scrutiny.

Customer Reviews:

Too stuffy for my taste.......2007-05-31

Though I am highly educated, I found the book's tone to be too formal and academic to make it an enjoyable read. It might be difficult to digest if you are not used to reading texts full of big words and complex sentences. I also did not like the author's point of view in that it seemed a little too one-sided in its anti-advertiser stance. I only made it through the first chapter because I found these aspects of the book to be a turnoff. Though the book does contain interesting information, I think that there are a lot of more enjoyable reads out there on the same or similar topics.

Class struggle from above.......2005-12-04

"The Consumer Trap" by Michael Dawson is a brilliant analysis of big business marketing and society. Drawing on the pioneering work of Thorstein Veblen, Mr. Dawson breaks new ground by unmasking the class basis of consumer culture. Positing that marketing functions as a coercive force that is wielded by the wealthy for the purpose of exploiting the working class, the author helps us deconstruct the logic of capital and imagine how a truly healthy and democratic society might come to pass.

Mr. Dawson discusses how marketing has thrived as a result of class stratification, where the inequal distribution of profits forces capitalists into fierce competition for relatively scarce consumer dollars. Importantly, Mr. Dawson demonstrates how marketers utilize sophisticated techniques to manipulate the behaviors of target audiences in order to attain corporate profit objectives. This insight helps Mr. Dawson debunk the ideological notion that marketing functions merely to align the forces of supply and demand in a competitive, free market economy; rather, the author explains that products such as automobiles, cigarettes and junk foods demonstrate that the well-being of consumers and the environment are less important than the prerogative of producing predictable and reliable returns to shareholders.

Mr. Dawson further contends that marketing exerts a "Piranha effect" where thousands of subtle psychological commands combine to exert significant changes in human behavior; that these advertising messages convince humans to engage in self-destructive behaviors is but one manifestation of the phenomenon. Mr. Dawson vividly describes how corporate-controlled processes have succeeded in subsuming the masses to a highly commodified and consumerist lifestyle. As this culture spreads through globalization, the author contends that the working class experiences an increasingly dangerous, deskilled and degraded existence while a relatively small number of investors reap huge financial rewards on a consistent basis.

Interestingly, Mr. Dawson theorizes about how those wishing to develop a Democratic/Socialist alternative to today's market totalitarianism might do well to coopt the tools of the capitalist overclass. Imagining that a political movement might coalesce around the public's growing resentment of the social and financial costs imposed by the consumer trap, Mr. Dawson believes that it might be possible for the public to utilize market research techniques to more efficiently allocate resources towards the production of socially-beneficial products and services. While acknowledging that the realities of corporate power makes it very difficult to nurture such a movement, the author believes that a Democratic/Socialist society could help inaugurate an era of peace, egalitarianism and environmental sustainability for all.

I highly recommend this exceptionally well-researched, imaginative and original work to everyone.

A Brilliant Critique.......2003-05-27

This is no mere academic exercise despite its having been published by a university press. "The Consumer Trap" does for understanding contemporary commercial culture what Manufacturing Consent did for modern media studies. It is one of the most important and persuasive books I have ever read, and I compare it to the best of C. Wright Mills - which it resembles. Not since Veblen has a literate analyst taken on what capitalism has been doing to American life, gloves off, like Michael Dawson does. The statistics he cites about the staggering amounts being spent by business to keep the madness of our time-deprived and consumption-obsessed way of life going are worth the price of the book. Fans (like me) of Jacoby's "The Last Intellectuals" will keenly note that Dawson, albeit a Ph.D. in sociology, is making his living as a paralegal - and hence is free from the toady disciplinary and departmental politics that would have aborted this brilliant book. Tell your friends - and get together to discuss this book while we still have a remaining few shreds of social fabric which have not been turned into rubbish.

The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life.(Book review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues

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The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life.(Book review): An article from: Journal of Economic Issues
Robert E. Prasch
Manufacturer: Thomson Gale
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Journal of Economic Issues, published by Thomson Gale on December 1, 2006. The length of the article is 1065 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life.(Book review)
Author: Robert E. Prasch
Publication: Journal of Economic Issues (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2006
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 40 Issue: 4 Page: 1162(3)

Article Type: Book review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

Death by consumption.(State of the World 2004. Special Focus: The Consumer Society)(The High Price of Materialism)(The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing ... Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail

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Death by consumption.(State of the World 2004. Special Focus: The Consumer Society)(The High Price of Materialism)(The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing ... Review): An article from: Labour/Le Travail
Dennis Soron
Manufacturer: Canadian Committee on Labour History
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Digital

General | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Book Description

This digital document is an article from Labour/Le Travail, published by Canadian Committee on Labour History on March 22, 2005. The length of the article is 7458 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Death by consumption.(State of the World 2004. Special Focus: The Consumer Society)(The High Price of Materialism)(The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life)(Book Review)
Author: Dennis Soron
Publication: Labour/Le Travail (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2005
Publisher: Canadian Committee on Labour History
Issue: 55 Page: 197(16)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale

The Consumer Trap : Big Business Marketing in American Life (The History of Communication Ser.)

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The Consumer Trap : Big Business Marketing in American Life (The History of Communication Ser.)
Michael Dawson
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000X6SHV0

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The Consumer Trap: Big Business Marketing in American Life
Michael Dawson
Manufacturer: University of Illinois Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000NOF0A8

Product Description

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Amazon.com

With Martha's help, you've mastered Rosemary Shallot Popovers and Ina's Cornmeal Cheddar Scones. Your Thanksgiving dinners are legendary. You bake hundreds of cookies and decorate your home from top to bottom at Christmas. But do you know how to create a festive Labor Day, or a Fourth of July that goes off with a bang?

Designed as a companion to 1993's Holidays, Special Occasions: The Best of Martha Stewart Living moves away from Thanksgiving and Christmas to focus instead on Valentine's Day, Easter Sunday, and other "days we choose to make special." Martha and company provide elegant menus and decorating tips for 12 theme events, from a New Year's Day soup buffet to an All Hallows' Eve potluck supper, celebrating Mother's Day, graduation day, and even simply a midsummer's day in between. Sidebars featuring food histories, tips on collecting, and etiquette are interspersed with the recipes. The recipes themselves are predictably wonderful, from a simple yet beautiful Herbed Tomato Salad to an elaborate, sinful "Chocolate Romance" cake and a Pansy Cake that looks too pretty to eat. Martha would be the first to tell you that "good company comes first" when planning a successful party, but this book can certainly help with everything else. After all, who says the first day of summer isn't as special as Thanksgiving--especially when celebrated with a Tuscan feast. --C.B. Delaney

Book Description

Hundreds of the best ideas for 12 holidays throughout the year--from New Year's to Halloween--collected from the pages of Martha Stewart Living. Each menu is lavishly illustrated and explained with step-by-step instructions. Sidebars cover such topics as lighting an outdoor party, dyeing Easter eggs, and the perfect cakes to make every occasion memorable. Full-color photographs.

Customer Reviews:

One of her worst - a cut & paste job.......2003-04-04

This is old articles from her magazine and the advice was not very good. There are better books.

One of my favorite books for entertaining.......2001-09-21

Well done and illustrated, these are features from the early days of the magazine. I can personally vouch for the pear bread pudding and the torta di riso--a lot of work but like a lot of things, WELL worth the effort. I don't know if I could do all of those things at once for one activity, especially the wedding at home. But in addition to all the recipes and chapters, it's idea-inspiring. Which is what Martha is all about (that, and the stock market!)

A book for all occasions.......1998-08-31

The menus planned in the book are delicious. Each is catagorized under a different event or holiday, but I've used them for not so special events too. There are also wonderful decorating and entertaining ideas for all seasons. The paella is wonderful!

Special Occasions - Menus, Recipes & Entertaining Ideas, The Best Of Martha Stewart Living

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Special Occasions - Menus, Recipes & Entertaining Ideas, The Best Of Martha Stewart Living
Isolde and Schuler, Amy Martha Stewart Living; Editors - Motley
Manufacturer: Time Publishing Ventures
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
ASIN: B000JZUS3U

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Special Occasions - Menus, Recipes & Entertaining Ideas, The Best Of Martha Stewart Living
Isolde and Schuler, Amy Martha Stewart Living; Editors - Motley
Manufacturer: Clarkson N. Potter, Inc.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000RYVJHM

Martha Stewart Living Magazine - Special Occasions The Best of Martha Stewart Living

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Martha Stewart Living Magazine - Special Occasions The Best of Martha Stewart Living

Manufacturer: Clarkson Potter
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000HF770O

Book Description

At last, here is a tax guide for busy people who want to take advantage of every deduction legally available to them. Aided by numerous check lists, worksheets, and line-by-line tax-reducing tips, you'll discover how to minimize your income tax payments, maximize deductions, and not pay the IRS one penny more than absolutely necessary. You'll learn how to make the most of your property, income, and investments--without giving up an unfair share of it to the federal and state governments.

Taxes for Busy People, 1998 Edition (Busy People)

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Taxes for Busy People, 1998 Edition (Busy People)
Robert A. Cooke
Manufacturer: Mcgraw-Hill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OFE3MC

Book Description

I Guarantee You Will Buy Low Sell High and Make Money offers an easy-to-learn method of playing the stock market that tells exactly when to buy and sell and how much to buy and sell to make you maximum profits with minimum risk. The perfect method for busy people as the method only takes 30 minutes a month to use. Stocks are where the big profits are and this book shows you exactly how to invest in stocks.

The book also shows you how to choose the best type of stocks for this method of investing. The book is written so all investors experienced and new will easily and completely understand this investing method. This is the perfect investing method for today's up and down stock market. Here's the book to free you from emotional investing and give you a rational, logical method that tells you the right thing to do every time. You can average 20- 30% a year from this method which is designed to be used for the long haul. You've now got a method of investing you can use the rest of your life to achieve your dreams.

Customer Reviews:

A complete rip off.......2004-11-04

First of all, this is simply a poor re-write of a great book, which is How to Make a 1,000,000 in the Stock Market Automatically!
by Robert Lichello. This book mimics that book without any of the backstory. This book is mostly pages of poorly copied spreadsheets showing his stock results (from 12 years ago) and really has nothing to do with learning this system.

While it is a great system, it is also a flawed system in that it teaches you to buy stocks as they go down, which can be a hugely bad idea (see Enron, Kmart, Krispy Kreme, America West Airlines, etc...etc...etc....)

I can't believe I paid $26 to re-read the book I already own, How to Make a 1,000,000 in the Stock Market Automatically!
by Robert Lichello which is only $7 and is a much better book. I feel like I've been robbed of $26.

I Guarantee You Will Buy Low Sell High and Make Money.......2001-01-15

This is the best and most informative and usable book on the stock market that I have ever read and is suitable for investors at all levels, even beginners. I wouldn't take $100 for my copy if it couldn't be replaced. The book is not based on theory but a proven portfolio management formula developed and tested sense the 1970's. I am using the method described in the book with success. The book is not a "get rich quick" scheme but a how you can make a steady 20-30% return on your investment safely. The author is very helpful and well informed on the market. The first author I have ever written to that the author will respond promptly and with a willingness to help. The author Jeff Weber also publishes a very informative and useful newsletter for only $15 a year in HTML format. Get this.... the newsletter tells you the stocks that have been thoroughly researched and recommended for this method of investing thus practically all the work is done for you. The author also has an informative web site at: http://jjjinvesting.com I give this book a 5 Star Plus. Buy it -is my recommendation. Feel free to contact me at jimboo@pldi.net if you desire more information on this book.

Book Description

Michael Davis, a leading figure in the study of professional ethics, offers here both a compelling exploration of engineering ethics and a philosophical analysis of engineering as a profession. After putting engineering in historical perspective, Davis turns to the Challenger space shuttle disaster to consider the complex relationship between engineering ideals and contemporary engineering practice. Here, Davis examines how social organization and technical requirements define how engineers should (and presumably do) think. Later chapters test his analysis of engineering judgement and autonomy empirically, engaging a range of social science research including a study of how engineers and managers work together in ten different companies.

Thinking like an Engineer: Studies in the Ethics of a Profession

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Thinking like an Engineer: Studies in the Ethics of a Profession
Michael Davis
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000OKJ7QE

Book Description

At a time when serious plays dominated the stages, Lillian Russell was one of the first to popularize musical theater. With her beauty, voice, and grace, she became the symbol of the new American woman. She used those attributes to attain power, social status and wealth, and then went on to become one of the earliest champions of women's equality. Her life and career are covered here in-depth.

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