The study of American consumer society in this period, 1945-1960, and its multidimensional impacts on the country in the following decades will contribute to give implications for Vietna
Trang 1VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
LE THI THU HANG
THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN CONSUMER SOCIETY AFTER THE WORLD WAR II
Trang 2Thesis is completed at:
Graduate Academy of Social Sciences
Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences
Supervisor: PROF TRAN THI VINH
Examiner 1: Prof Do Thanh Binh
Examiner 2: Assoc Prof Nguyen Huu Cat
Examiner 3: Assoc Prof Nguyen Manh Dung
The thesis will be defended at the Thesis Examination Council at academy level
Room , Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, 477
Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi
At , date month year Thesis can be found at:
- Library of Graduate Academy of Social Sciences
- Vietnam National Library
Trang 3INTRODUCTION
1 THE NECESSITY OF THE RESEARCH
With a population of nearly 95 million people, Vietnam ranks 14th most populous country in the world, 8th in Asia, 3rd in Southeast Asia and is entering a period of golden population structure with the highest rate of young population in Vietnamese history Population growth and the process of people moving into large urban areas have great impacts on consumption habits in Vietnam
America also experienced industrialization with an economy of high growth rate, urbanization and population boom in the 15 years after World War II, becoming a country characterized as a consumer society The period from 1945 to 1960 was seen as the American golden age The prosperity of the economy along with the development of the policies encouragaing consumption for more than
a decade brought American consumer life to a new level The development of American consumer society in the post-World War II era not only created catalysts to promote production, science, technology, raise living standards, but also brought this country to potential risks and dangers in economy, society and environment in the following decades
The study of American consumer society in this period,
1945-1960, and its multidimensional impacts on the country in the following decades will contribute to give implications for Vietnam in the process of industrialization and modernization towards promoting consumption and sustainable socio-economic development
Trang 42 Purposes and task of the thesis
2.1 Purposes of the thesis
The purpose of the thesis is to clarify the development and changes of American consumer society in the post-World War II period (1945-1960) On that basis, the thesis assesses the impacts of consumer society on the development of America and gives implications for Vietnam
2.2 Tasks of the thesis
To accomplish those purposes, the thesis focuses on working with the following main tasks: (1) Collecting and systemizing domestic and foreign works related to American consumer society; (2) Analyzing theoretical basis of American consumer society; (3) Analyzing major factors affecting the development of American consumer society in the post-World War II era; (4) Analyzing the movements and changes of American consumer society during the period 1945 - 1960 to see the trend of consumption of this country and the problems araised; (5) Evaluating positive and negative impacts of consumer society on America and providing suggestions for Vietnam in the process of industrialization, economic integration and social development
3 Subject and scopes of the thesis
3.1 Subject of the thesis
The thesis focuses on studying the development of American consumer society after the World War II (from 1945 to 1960)
3.2 Scope of the thesis
For the space, the thesis studies American consumer society;
major changes of the society, development, and impacts of this
Trang 5consumer society in the post-World War II For the period, the thesis
focuses on studying the development of American consumer society
in the post-World War II (1945 - 1960) However, in order to have an overall view in the historical process to have accurate assessments and conclusions, the author also discusses some issues related to the
period before and after the studied period For the content, the thesis
does literature review on the studying American consumer society; analyzes the factors affecting the development of American consumer society in the period of 1945-1960; assesses the impact of consumer society on America during this period and its impact in the
following decades to give implications for Vietnam
4 Methodology and research methods of the thesis
4.1 Methodology of the thesis
The thesis uses the method of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to study, analyze, evaluate and draw conclusions to clarify the relationship and impacts of historical context to American society in the period of 15 years after the World
War II
4.2 Methods of the thesis
Historical method and logical method are the two main ones used to clarify the content of the thesis The comparison method is also used to clarify the version of American consumer society before and after the World War II In addition, the thesis also uses a number
of other research methods such as analysis, synthesis, statistics, to clarify the issues raised in the thesis
Trang 65 New scientific contributions of the thesis
The thesis is a systematic study from the perspective of a Vietnamese researcher on the development of American consumer society in the post-World War II (1945-1960) The thesis clarifies some theoretical issues about consumer society, points out the movement and effects of consumer society on how it changed thinking, demands and actions of American consumers; analyzes the positive and negative impacts of consumption encouragement in America to draw some policy implications for Vietnam
6 The theoretical and practical meaning of the thesis
6.1 The theoretical meaning of the thesis
The thesis contributes to the study of American history in Vietnam through consumer society in American for the period of 1945-1960 The thesis will contribute to clarify the major issues as well as the dual aspects of the most developed consumer society in the world This is also an attempt to fill the gap in research of American consumer society from the perspective of a Vietnamese researcher and suggest the implications for Vietnam in the process of industrialization
6.2 Practical meaning of the thesis
The study of post-war American consumer society with its positive and negative aspects can provide suggestions for Vietnam to adjust and make policies that incorporate economic, social and sustainable development for Vietnam
Trang 77 Structure of the thesis
In addition to the Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis consists of 4 main chapters:
Chapter 1 Literature Review
Chapter 2 Theoretical and practical basis for the development
of American consumer society (from 1945 to 1960)
Chapter 3 The developement of American consumer society (from 1945 to 1960)
Chapter 4 Some remarks about American consumer society
Conclusion
List of published articles related to the thesis topic
References
Appendix
Trang 8CHAPTER 1 LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Domestic studies
Post-war America gained new socio-economic achievements, paving the way for a boom of a modern American consumer society Through research and reference materials from many different sources, we have found that there are currently no documents in Vietnam studying directly about American consumer society with its fluctuations in the twentieth century However, it can be seen that there are some important documents about the development of capitalism because this is the premise for the birth of consumer society In addition to that, some American historical, economic, political, social, cultural and religious studies have helped us review the basic features of American society and an overview on this country
1.2 External studies
American consumer society has been studied by many American scholars as well as foreign scholars as a phenomenon in the development of America in the twentieth century In order to implement the research topic of the thesis, we have access to a number of foreign books, research works, documents, and magazines closely related to the research issues Literature review of research works on American consumer society, its boom in the postwar period (1945-1960) and some of its impacts on America is divided into the followings:
1.1.1 Theoretical works
1.1.2 Classic works
Trang 91.1.3 Contemporary works
1.1.4 Post-war American consumer society works
1.1.5 Works on impacts of American consumer society
Based on the literature review of domestic and foreign materials related to the research topic, we have some comments below:
First, there is no in-depth domestic research work on American
consumer society in general and American consumer society in the period after the World War II
Second, foreign studies have deeply analyzed different aspects of
American consumer society in the twentieth century with approaches from economics, politics, culture, history, sociology, anthropology, psychology, gender ect
Third, works in this literature review are typical studies related to
the topic of the thesis
However, literature review on American consumer society in the post-World War II era shows that some issues have not been clarified Therefore, the thesis will focus on analyzing systematically the following issues:
- Identifying factors promoting the formation of American consumer society during the period of 1945 - 1960;
- Analyzing major changes in American thought and consumption patterns during the post-World War II period (1945 - 1960);
- Analyzing the impacts of consumer society on the development
of America during this period and the following decades to provide implications for Vietnam
Trang 10CHAPTER 2 THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL BASIS ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN CONSUMER SOCIETY 2.1 Theoretical basis
2.1.1 Concept of consumer society
From the study of theoretical and practical works, the thesis provides a definition that covers different aspects of consumer society It is a society with consumer-oriented economic policies This society tends to respect material life, taking material consumption as a goal, a measure of life values Purchasing goods and services is not only to meet the needs of people but also to show their identities and lifestyles Consumption is considered to bring happiness and meaning to each individual's life
2.1.2 Theories about the existence and development of
consumer society
The born of consumer society has been interpreted by many theorists for decades The thesis will present the classical theory of American economist and sociologist, Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929), then contemporary theories of influential sociologists such as Jean Baudrillard, Pierre Bourdieu, Mary Douglas - Baron Isherwood and Grant McCracken
2.1.3 Historical background of American consumer society
American consumer society has a process of formation and development along with its long history Many studies have found that America did not become a consumer society overnight when
"saving" was once a characteristics and value that had been praised since the early days of the country The "thrifty" spirit had always
Trang 11been respected from the early seventeenth century to the early twentieth century Two factors that were closely linked with America's thinking and saving action are religious and political factors However, when World War II ended, the technological revolution and industrialization brought about many opportunities for America to enter the thriving economic period in which the concept
of “thrift” was no longer appropriate America had quickly become a wealthy country with the ability to meet all the essential needs of the people and entered into the new period of a consumer society
2.2 Foundations of American consumer society in 1945-1960
2.2.1 Political factors
After the World War II, the two most powerful countries that emerged from the war were America and the Soviet Union, who attempted to increase their influences over the world The Marxist-Leninist ideology continued to serve as a guideline for Soviet policies with a traditionally centralized management approach, which was in contrast to America's development model Further more, Truman doctrine was born and the Cold War was officially launched against the Soviet Union and socialist countries
This domestic and international political context created a dominant thought in American society That was a desire for a happy family in both material and spiritual aspects to have a safe haven against threats of war from the outside world The image of a comfortable kitchen with abundant consumption and a prosperous economy helped America to assert its role as a world power in the late 1950s This political motivation was one of the most important
Trang 12driving forces behind the development of American consumer society after the World War II
2.2.2 Economic factors
During 15 years after the World War II, American economy experienced extraordinary growth, helping them rise to the top of the world and emphasized its position in the political and foreign affairs, security and defense The total national income (GNP) jumped from USD212 billion in 1945 to USD520 billion in 1961 America entered
a period of unprecedented prosperity in history and was known as the
"Affluent Society" by economist John Kenneth Galbraith The miraculous development of American economy stimulated the development of a market economy In addition to that, freedom of competition had diversified products, lowered costs, stimulated production and consumption These were important prerequisites for the development of post-war American consumer society
2.2.3 Social factors
America 15 years after the World War II was known as the
"boom" period not only because of economic boom but also because
of the baby boom, a prominent social trend Population growth coupled with the suburbanization This was the first time that more Americans lived in the suburbs than in the inner cities Suburbanization created a new phenomenon called “megalopolis”, which referred to large cities that tended to spread and connect with each other along a major transportation system
In terms of spiritual life, religion was enhanced in this period with a sense of patriotism and loyalty Number of members in all religious cults increased rapidly Newly settled Americans in the
Trang 13suburbs particularly appreciated the role of the church in promoting family values and creating social cohesion
CHAPTER 3 THE DEVELOPMENT OF AMERICAN CONSUMER
SOCIETY (1945 -1960)
The period from 1945 to 1960 was considered the golden age of America High economic growth had led to unprecedented major social changes The prosperity of the economy together with the development of consumer encouragement tools for more than a
decade brought America's consumer life to a new level
3.1 Major changes in American consumption (1945-1960)
3.1.1 House
In the early years, 1945-1950, the return of 16 million American veterans after World War II with the desire to get married and start a new life exploded the demand for post-war houses G.I Law Bill dedicated to veterans and government support for newly arrived families in the suburbs helped many Americans afford to buy houses The Housing Act of 1949 spent billions of dollars on credit to provide opportunities for all Americans to buy houses and mortgage with a period of up to 30 years, bringing optimism to millions of people to fulfill American dream of “having a job, buying a house, getting married and raising a family” After 15 years of Great Depression and World War II with the lack of housing, Americans could not be more patient with a dream of having their own home In the 1950s and 1960s, people's housing needs continued to expand