Reminders and More Lecture Notes

REMINDERS: Don't forget to check out the previous blog post for the details of the family activity on making up midterm exam questions. We began that process today and will continue that on Thursday in class. Remember, I want each family's 5 questions and answers BY 3PM ON THURSDAY, so I can make my selections and then post the questions that will appear on the midterm by Friday. As I mentioned today, you should finish reading Affluenza, even if we might not get to the end in class on Thursday. I will set aside some time for review on Thursday for the midterm exam, which is scheduled for TUESDAY, 3/23.
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MORE LECTURE NOTES:

Chapter 19: The age of affluenza

A. This chapter is mainly about the title of the first section, "ADFLUENZA."
"That advertising's prime purpose is to promote affluenza is hardly a secret,..." (p. 154). Then, they quote the former marketing director for the Chicago Tribune, Pierre Martineau who underscores this point about advertising. (See the rest of that paragraph on p. 154.)

B. The costs of ads are phenomenal -- a typical 30-second national TV commercial costs nearly $300,000 to produce -- that's $10,000 a second! Advertising is a $217 billion-a-year industry. And its everywhere, as we know -- billboards, school buses, product placement in films, even outer space has been considered.

C. We live in an era of hypercommercialism. Advertising encourages us to meet nonmaterial needs (love, etc.) through material ends. Buy this product and we'll be loved and accepted. It's all about image.

D. The table on p. 158 exaggerates the upward "consumption spike," which is not to say it has not been significant. (this is the same problem I raised about the species extinction graph on p. 98.)

E. They close this chapter with some critical thoughts from a conservative economist, Wilhelm Ropke, who decries the spread of commercialism in all aspects of our lives. (See his comments, p. 159)


Chapter 20: Is there a (real) doctor in the house?

A. That is, a real doctor in contrast to a "spin doctor," which is what this chapter is mainly about.

B. But the authors begin by, again, making use of the doctor/medical analogy. Though there is all sorts of evidence (or symptoms) of the spread of affluenza, as we've seen, we tend to look the other way -- "told over and over again (by the spin doctors) that the market will provide. But will it?"

1. "How many millions of Americans are wheezing with affluenza, yet remain stubbornly in denial?" (p. 161)

C. Although we may be aware of how pervasive advertising has become, "few people really understand the other dimension of marketing -- an undercover public relations (PR) industry that creates and perpetuates our commercial culture." (p. 161) They go on to give numerous examples of how powerful this PR campaign is:

1. Actually working behind the scenes to sabotage a book critical of some aspect of business.

2. Funding "front groups" which have the appearance of being reputable -- eg., American Council on Health and Science, but note its funders!! (see p. 163)

3. Note successful earlier campaigns to defend cigarettes and leaded gas.

4. PR firms which have sought to sow doubt regarding the global warming problem -- suggest it may actually be good for us -- video entitled, "Greening of the Earth," emphasizing all the crops we'll be able to grow, ignoring the spread of tropical diseases, droughts, floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels, economic disruption.

5. PR has infiltrated the news media -- significant percentage of news stories generated by "spin doctor" PR journalists.

D. The consequences may be dire given the speed we seem to be travelling at: "Our 'pedal to the metal' economy is based on beliefs that resource supplies are limitless and that the earth can continually bounce back from abuse. These beliefs are in part scripted by public relations and advertising experts, just doing their jobs. What the heck, no harm done, right? Not exactly. Because of low-quality, incomplete information, we may be overlooking an obvious, and ominous concept: The car will still achieve racecar speeds as always, even if the tank is almost empty." (p. 170)
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REMEMBER TO INCORPORATE THE ABOVE NOTES IN YOUR CLASS NOTES. THAT BRINGS US UP TO PART III: TREATMENT (P. 171), WHICH IS WHERE I WILL START ON THURSDAY.