Where Did Consumerism Start?

While people across many different civilizations and time periods have always purchased and consumed goods, the modern concept of consumerism is best understood to have begun in the late 1600s in Europe.

Who invented consumerism?

In a 1955 speech, John Bugas (number two at the Ford Motor Company) coined the term consumerism as a substitute for capitalism to better describe the American economy: The term consumerism would pin the tag where it actually belongs – on Mr. Consumer, the real boss and beneficiary of the American system.

Where did consumerism start in America?

Carole Shammas, a historian at the University of California at Riverside, agrees: ''The foundations of American consumerism were laid in the 18th century,'' when large quantities of imported manufactured goods from England started to circulate in the 13 colonies.