1) Why and how did the “mass consumerism” become the symbol of “Americanism”?
One of the reasons is that occupied regions by the US force have received vibrating pop-culture through the US army second-handed. And then, it was intentional to integrate consumption as a freedom of choice into an imaginary of American dream. In the mid of the Cold War, American bureau and politician often boasted and emphasized consumption as a part of a circle of Keynesian economics.
2) Discuss the author’s argument that “consumerism, rather than the US nationstate, ‘won’ the Cold War.”
Because through advertising, consumerism claimed to provide a better living quality, and freedom of choices. And consumerism also spread into a transnational lifestyle believed and practiced by people worldwide. It is not the US but the capitalism defeated not the Soviet but the communism. As the continuing evolution of communications, the communist nation-states have found themselves being excluded from a gradually unifying globalization world which is support by mass production and mass consumption. What they could do is to reform themselves fit into it or to be a sitting duck, which both are the end of the consumerism.
comments
I would argue the word "won" they chose. It sounds like just another version of Francis Fukuyama's "The End of the History". The word "won" represents the victory of the capitalism and who trust capitalism. However, the failure and the fade off the communist doesn't seem to me that way. In modern China, we can observe that they successfully combined capitalism(which represents mass production and mass consumption) and a soft totalitarian bureau system which still claims themselves faithful supporters of communist. In my opinion, this is an exact opposite of what Karl Marx who actually put democracy as one of those significant factors to achieve communism society idealized. On the other hand, consumption has become the thing that devoured everything. In contemporary world, people can reveal their identities or ideology tendency by consuming instead of doing actual protest. Every agenda that matters (such as ethnicity or gender)become a something can be purchased, which lies in movies, musics, clothing and even foods. But this also conceal the argument about class, which is, to me, most important.
Questions:
1) Discuss the factors that contributed to the peaceful end of the Cold War.
Gorbachev's decision to let go off East Germany seemed to be a big factor, which caused him to face challenges against his authority inside the party. The rivalry between local nationalists and communism supporters also weakened Gorbachev's power of rule.
2) What made the reunification of Germany possible shortly after the end of the Cold War in Europe?
I think it's important that Gorbachev's Soviet were willing to let go off East Germany, especially allowing a reunified Germany to stay in NATO. Either West Germany or East Germany was the frontier of both sides. After Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet, what his first priority was growing economic problems in the Soviet. A better relationship with the Western economically rather that military tension was, to Gorbachev, a more practical decision to make.
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