Production, Consumption, & Materialism

Question 1

What is greater productivity thought to equal?

Answer 1

greater profitability

Question 2

“A rising tide raises all ships”

Answer 2

unequal in that some might gain but communities lose natural resources while making very little money

Question 3

What are 3 things companies have to be efficient at to remain the competition of the treadmill of production?

Answer 3

1) cut pay & benefits to workers
2) replace workers with machines
3) pressure governments to weaken environmental regulations to minimize cost spent disposing of waste or filtering pollution

Question 4

Externalities

Answer 4

costs not accounted for by the market

Question 5

True or False:

Pressure to produce cheaper goods can also lead to the rapid depletion of the natural resources that business depend on.

Answer 5

True

Question 6

__% of toxic releases in the U.S. come from the chemical industry which accounts for only __% of the U.S. GNP (gross national product)

Answer 6

46

2.9

Question 7

Top __% of coal power plants account for a third of all ______ ______ emissions and top __% of ______ ___ plants account for ____.

Answer 7

10
carbon dioxide
10
natural gas

Question 8

___% of $100,000-$150,000 said they could only afford the basics, with another ___% saying they sometimes can’t even afford those staples

Answer 8

18

10

Question 9

As early as _____, toys used as status symbols.

Answer 9

1870

Question 10

Older model was advertisers appeal to _________ to get their parents to buy for them.

Answer 10

children

Question 11

Newer model is for _________ and _____ to work together to convince parents to spend money

Answer 11

advertisers

kids

Question 12

One study found that ___% of parents asked kids for advice on car purchases

Answer 12

30

Question 13

What are ways (4) advertisers research how to get and keep childrens attention about products?

Answer 13

1) observe in home settings, bedroom and bathroom
2) put cameras on kids while they shop to see what they look at
3) have child agents that record things like “what cool kids are wearing”
4) gain entrance to schools through intermediaries (pay schools money, pair with non-profits to downplay commercial aspect)

Question 14

Who come up with the idea of the “Hunter-gather society”, focusing more on family time and satisfy needs easily with hunting for food?

Answer 14

Marshall Sahlin

Question 15

Who stated “People flaunt social power and status through consumption”?

Answer 15

Thorstein Veblen

Question 16

Conspicuous leisure

Answer 16

demonstrate wealth by showing off how much non-productive free time they have

Question 17

Conspicuous waste

Answer 17

use excessive amounts of goods or throw away items

Question 18

Vicarious consumption

Answer 18

indirectly show off wealth through others, such as buying their children expensive clothes, cars and vacations

Question 19

Who devised the idea of “positional goods” and what is the meaning behind it?

Answer 19

> Fred Hirsch

>desirable because they are scarce

Question 20

As animals or plants become rare, the _____ for them goes up

Answer 20

price

Question 21

Why do we consume?

Answer 21

replace lost elements of community and shopping our way to safety (bottled water, organic food, air filters)

Question 22

True or false:

Shopping our way to safety is not anther form of inequality

Answer 22

False; it is another form of inequality