Organising affluence: the Norwegian Consumer Council and comparative product testing in the 1950s and 1960s. Technocratic roots and practices
The work of the Consumer Council, established in 1953, can be regarded as the first overall attempt in Norway to organise the capitalist marketplace from the consumers' point of view. As a source of counter-information to seductive commercial marketing techniques that appealed to people's...
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| Published in: | The Scandinavian economic history review 2011-06, Vol.59 (2), p.149-165 |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Get full text |
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| Summary: | The work of the Consumer Council, established in 1953, can be regarded as the first overall attempt in Norway to organise the capitalist marketplace from the consumers' point of view. As a source of counter-information to seductive commercial marketing techniques that appealed to people's hidden desires, the Council aimed to enlighten the consumer with objective expert advice on buying the best value-for-money goods according to their 'true needs'. The idea of the good and functional market was based neither on planning nor on the complete autonomy of market forces, nor was it opposed to an abundant commodity culture as such. In fact, publishing results from scientific product tests for certain items could be seen as a major contribution to the spread and legitimisation of a modern consumer culture. The article discusses this attempt to organise affluence through the construction of a context-free, objective reality by a scientific bureaucracy of consumption and looks into the historical roots of such practices. |
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| ISSN: | 0358-5522 1750-2837 |