Unlocking of Difficulties

Guess the meanings of the underlined words using context clues found in the passages from the
reading.
1.There is no doubt that the growth of consumption has yielded major improvements in the
quality of life. But when we add up all the items we consume and consider the overall impact,
the picture gets murkier.
MEANING: using of a resource
2.Consumerism blossomed --both as a social ideology and in terms of a high rate of real
spending. Faced with the need to sell to a middle-class whose basic needs had already been met,
advertisers had to persuade Americans to buy things they didn't really need.
MEANING: increased of consumption in goods
3.The Depression reinforced these tendencies, leaving among its legacies along lasting emphasis
on security in the form of material success.
MEANING: sadness
4.Trade unionists, social and religious reformers understood that since the consumption of
luxuries necessitated long hours of work, consumerism would keep most Americans imprisoned
in capitalism's "squirrel cage."
MEANING: repetitive activity or way of life
5.The inability of the consumerist lifestyle to create durable satisfaction can be seen in the
syndrome of "keeping up with the Joneses." This competition is based on the fact that it is not
the absolute level of consumption that matters but how much one consumes relative to one's
peers.
MEANING: comparison to one’s neighbor, cultural inferiority
6.It's not easy to get off the income treadmill and into a new, more leisured lifestyle. Mrs. Smith
and Mrs. Jones are trapped in a classic Prisoner's Dilemma: Both would be better off with more
free time; but without cooperation, they will stick to the long-hours, high-consumption choice.
MEANING: individual acting in their own self interest
7.Over two thirds of the population also says it would "welcome less emphasis on money." Yet
millions of working parents see their children or spouses far less than they should or would like
to. "Working" mothers complain they have no time for themselves. My explanation for this
paradoxical behavior is that people are trapped by the cycle of work-and-spend.
MEANING: self-contradictory
8.Given the paucity of part-time jobs for men, it will be almost impossible for John to secure a
position in a managerial, professional, or administrative capacity.
MEANING: insufficient presence
9.Work-and-spend is driven by productivity growth. Whether the annual increment is 3 percent,
as it was for much of the postwar period, or less, as in recent years, it provides the chance either
to raise income or to reduce working hours.
MEANING: increase or addition
10.Jane's switch to part-time will be less traumatic, because more women work part time. Her
earnings loss will be less, because women are already discriminated against in full-time work.
But still Jane will most likely be relegated to the bottom part of the female labor market --
service, sales and clerical jobs.
MEANING: consign or dismiss to an inferior

Reading Activity
Read “The Creation of Discontent” by Juliet Schor
Comprehension Questions
Answer the following questions about the reading:
1.According to the article, why can’t increased purchasing power and acquisitions of material
goods make one happy?
- we discover other people aren’t all that impressed and we expect our purchases can
impress other people. Shopping does not quench our desire for contentment.

2.What three suggestions can you make to stop the cycle of keeping up with the Joneses?
- get clear on your own values
- plan for the things that make you happy
- get better friends
3.What ways are suggested by the author.to counter attachment to consumption and possessions?
Do you agree with them or not? Why or why not?
- yes, because it is time to rethink our spending habits, rediscover thoughtfulness and
intentionality in our purchases, and remind ourselves that happiness is not on sale at the
department store. Buying more is not the solution. We were made for greater pursuits than
material possessions. And our lives should reflect that truth
Deepening
1.Make a cause-and effect graphic organizer to illustrate the cycle of the creation of discontent.

Cause Effect

Working spending

Consumerism dissatisfaction

materialism discontent

2.Explain this quote from the article in your own words. “Consumerism is not an ahistorical trait
of human nature, but a specific product of the development of the market system, which allowed
consumerism to “spill over" for the first time beyond the charmed circles of the rich.”
- Consumerism is at the crux of a number of important issues affecting the nation and the
world creation and maintenance of the f alse s elf, spiritual emptiness, detachment from
natur e,and sust ainability. Current levels of consumption are ecologically destructive and
unsustainable. Underst anding the psychological and spiritual effects of consumerism may
be important to reverse the tr end of increasing consumption.
Writing Activity
Write a three-paragraph summary of “The Creation of Discontent”. Paraphrase the main points
of the author and quote those that you think are important. Do not forget to cite properly.
- A Life Full of Material Content Does buying material object make people feel content?
Juliet Schor’s essay, “The Creation of Discontent,” connects how people take advantage of
materialism and how people’s exploitation in materials results in the decline of happiness.
Schor mentions about how people work hard and struggle more to maintain a lifestyle that
makes people so unhappy. Comfort in our own lives is harder to come by when the money
that each person makes is all going back to the economy.
The consumerism of the postwar era has not been without its effects on the way we use
our time. As people became accustomed to the material rewards of prosperity, desires for
leisure time were eroded. In both the workplace and the home, progress has repeatedly
translated into more goods and services, rather than more free time. Work-and-spend has
become a mutually reinforcing and powerful syndrome.
There is no doubt that the growth of consumption has yielded major improvements in
the quality of life. But when we add up all the items we consume and consider the overall
impact, the picture gets murkier. In an era when the connections between perpetual growth
and environmental deterioration are becoming more apparent, with the quality of public
life declining in many areas, shouldn't we at least step back and re-examine our
commitment to ever-greater quantities of consumer goods.
Writing Activity
Write an essay in Microsoft Word by answering the following guide questions.
1. What is your understanding of the word "consumerism"?

2. What factors propagate consumerism?

3. What products do you buy that you think you need but you really don't?

4. Can you avoid consumerism? If you can, how; if you can't, why not?

You can paraphrase and quote insights from “The Creation of Discontent” which you think can
help support your answers. You can also cite other sources that can strengthen your ideas. Think
of a catchy title for your essay. Finally, do not forget to paraphrase and quote properly and cite
your sources accurately. Limit your essay to 450-500 words.

Materialistic world
Americans live in what may be the foremost consumer-oriented society in history. They
spend three to four times as numerous hours a year shopping as our partners in Western
Europe. Four billion square feet of our add up to arrive zone has been changed over into
shopping centers, or approximately 16 square feet for each American man, lady and child.
Most homes are virtual retail outlets, with cable shopping channels, mail-order catalogues,
toll-free numbers and computer hookups. We are able shop from the office, from the car,
indeed in airplane terminals, where video screens permit prompt on-screen acquiring.
While advanced consumerism dates from the 1920s, the "shop 'til you drop" disorder
appeared especially dynamic amid the 1980s, a decade famously spoken to as one long
buying spree. Within the five a long time between 1983 and 1987, Americans obtained 51
million microwaves, 85 million color TVs, 36 million fridges and coolers, 48 million VCRs
and 23 million cordless phones -- all for an grown-up populace of as it were 180 million.
The normal American presently expends, in toto, more than twice as much as he or she did
40 a long time back. And this holds not as it were for the Gucci set but all the way down the
salary scale.
The consumerism of the postwar time has not been without its impacts on the way we
utilize our time. As individuals got to be usual to the fabric rewards of thriving, wants for
relaxation time were disintegrated. In both the work environment and the domestic,
advance has over and over interpreted into more products and administrations, instead of
more free time. Work-and-spend has ended up a commonly fortifying and effective
syndrome.
Even those with low livelihoods are not free from weight to expend. Tv, publicizing, peer
competition and the omnipresent illustration of the financially more blessed give persistent
confirmations to the esteem of high living. The destitute are not so adherents to a substitute
(anti-materialist) set of values as they are unsuccessful players at the diversion. On the off
chance that they are not caught in work-and-spend, it is more since they can't than that
they won't.