Victor Lebow
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Victor Lebow was a 20th century economist, widely known for his quotation regarding the formulation of American consumer capitalism found in his paper "Price Competition in 1955" (Journal of Retailing, Spring 1955) and more recently publicized in the short film Story of Stuff. In the film it is implied that Lebow's quote was a prescription for the economy to come, but when taken in context, it is contended as to whether his intents were prescription or critique.
[edit] Paraphrased Quotation Featured in Story of Stuff
"Our enormously productive economy ... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption.... we need things consumed, burned up, replaced, and discarded at an ever-accelerating rate."
