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  • The Overspent American by Juliet B. Schor book cover
  • The Overspent American by Juliet B. Schor book cover
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The Overspent American

by Juliet B. Schor

Consumption and the American wish list

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Consumption and the American wish list

Juliet B. Schor examines the link between material dissatisfaction, long working hours, persistent desires for new purchases, and low saving in American life. The book challenges explanations that place responsibility solely on weak consumer self-control or advertising, and instead considers how spending operates as a social practice. Its central question is how consumer culture shapes both what people want and the pressures surrounding work and money.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in consumer behavior and American spending culture
  • Readers exploring the social dimensions of work, saving, and material wants

Themes

Consumer cultureMaterial dissatisfactionWork and spendingSaving and social pressures

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

The Overspent American explores why so many of us feel materially dissatisfied, why we work staggeringly long hours and yet walk around with ever-present mental "wish lists" of things to buy or get, and why Americans save less than virtually anyone in the world. Unlike many experts, Harvard economist Juliet B. Schor does not blame consumers' lack of self-discipline. Nor does she blame advertisers. Instead she analyzes the crisis of the American consumer in a culture where spending has become the ultimate social art.
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