Spiritual myths of consumption: puritanism, transcendentalism and the consubstantiation of the American consumer

Abstract

Contemporary consumer trends in America are profoundly influenced by the enduring religious values of Puritanism and the more secular spiritual values of Transcendentalism. Both belief systems have deeply penetrated American collective memory. While they share common historical roots, the tensions that emerge from their differences describe a typology of three enduring collective myths of American culture – the Myth of the American Dream, the Myth of the American Adam and the Myth of American Exceptionalism. These myths, in turn, define three contemporary consumer movements – Voluntary Simplicity, Transformational Consumption and Radical Consumption.

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