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International Journal of Management (IJM)
Volume 8, Issue 6, Nov–Dec 2017, pp. 62–68, Article ID: IJM_08_06_007
Available online at
http://www.iaeme.com/ijm/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=8&IType=6
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ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510
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CONTEMPORARY MODEL OF CONSUMPTION:
A HISTORICAL OVERVIEW AND
CORRESPONDENCE WITH IBN KHALDOUN’S
CONSUMPTION CYCLE
SAHIB Amal-Oudiî and BOUAZIZ Abdelhaq
Laboratoire de Mécanique Productique et Génie Industriel,
Ecole Supérieure de Technologie de Casablanca, Hassan II University of Casablanca,
BP 8012, Oasis, Casablanca, Morocco
ABSTRACT
In this article, we try to shine a spotlight on the construction of consumption’s
contemporary model. The beginning of the contemporary consumer model was in the
United States where machine tools development and Scientific Management created a
problem of manufactured goods abundance. Adopted solution was to stimulate
consumption, which necessitated a change in the American society. This change was
achieved through many ways. After building the basic model, many actions were done
to perpetuate and export this model. Also, we try to make correspondence between Ibn
Khaldoun’s consumption cycle and model’s evolution phases. At the end we propose a
direction of future research.
Key words: American consumer society, Contemporary model of consumption, Ibn
Khaldoun’s consumption cycle.
Cite this Article: SAHIB Amal-Oudiî and BOUAZIZ Abdelhaq, Contemporary
Model of Consumption: A Historical Overview and Correspondence with Ibn
Khaldoun’s Consumption Cycle. International Journal of Management, 8 (6), 2017,
pp. 62–68. http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=8&IType=6
1. INTRODUCTION
Capitalism is a continuous source of crisis: financial instability, global warming, rising of
inequalities (Chavagneux 2013, p7). The global financial crisis of 2008 is only an episode
because the failure of this system is intrinsic and the risks of new crises still exist (Schäfer
2008, pp 306-308). To deal with this threat, some voices demand the exit from capitalism
(Kempf 2013, p 9). But to be able to propose alternatives to this system, it is necessary to
have a good understanding of its elementary components.
The structure that Modern society inherited from the industrial revolution is very specific
and it has never had a peer through history. It consists of three elements: the capitalist, the
laborer and the consumer (Robbins 2014, p 2). Hence, we propose, in this article, to trace the
Contemporary Model of Consumption: A Historical Overview and Correspondence with
Ibn Khaldoun’s Consumption Cycle
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history of one of these three components: the consumer. This choice is dictated by the
importance of this component because the capitalist and the worker are at the same time
consumers, which means that consumption is the fundamental element of the capitalist
system.
2. IBN KHALDOUN’S CONSUMPTION CYCLE
There is no doubt that Consuming is a natural act, because the satisfaction of human needs is
wholly or partly a question of consuming practices. These practices represent the expression
of lifestyle’s development (Hébel 2012, p 8), which means that consumption has a changing
nature. Indeed, according to Ibn Khaldoun, consumption habits follow the phases of empires
evolution. Thus, the first phase is characterized by a self-denial lifestyle. As sovereignty is
established, comfort and well-being become more and more important in the lifestyle. It starts
by adopting the lifestyle of fallen nations. Then a specific touch is added to it, and this can
even go to a complete transformation (Ibn Khaldoun 2003, p 203). When the peak of this
evolution is reached, the decline begins. Once the limit of elegance and tolerable luxury are
reached, desires and passions drag people in a vicious circle. The distinctive signs of this
situation are: over-indebtedness and drifts on the ethical plan (Ibn khaldoun 2003, pp 407-
410).
3. THE CONTEMPORARY MODEL OF CONSUMPTION
The beginning of the contemporary consumer model is a subject of discussion. Some authors
think that it has its origins in the Europe of the 17th century, others speak of China and
Muslim countries of the 16th century or even China of the 7th century (Norel 2011). These
ideas are in contradiction with two observations. The first concerns the value systems that
dominated the world before the 18th century (Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Confucianism,
Buddhism, ...). These systems did not offer favorable conditions for the development of such
as model of consumption (Stearns 2006, pp 4-7). The second is about the dominant nation.
Since the second half of the 20th century, the Western world, where this model of
consumption is strongly present, is dominated by the United States of America. We know that
dominated tend always to imitate the domineering (Ibn Khaldoun 2003, pp 176-177) and this
means that understanding the contemporary consumer model requires an understanding of the
American model.
American society, like most of modern societies, possesses this structure inherited from
the industrial revolution, which rests on three elements: The capitalist, the laborer and the
consumer. The common point between these three components is an abnormal rush towards
accumulation: accumulation of profits for the capitalist, accumulation of wages for the laborer
and accumulation of goods for the consumer (Robbins 2014, p 12). This decomposition is
interesting because the capitalist and the laborer are also consumers, which means that
consumption is very important in this system. Moreover, Charles McGovern (in Rosenberg
2009) considers that it is possible to speak of "material nationalism" in the American case,
because new migrants seek to be identified as Americans through the consumption of goods
and services which are compatible with the american way of life.
Until the 19th century, the dominant culture in the United States was centered on
frugality, saving and self-denial. People were thrifty. Buying a luxury product was perceived
as waste, and these products were considered useless (Robbins 2014, p 14). It should be
noticed that this description corresponds perfectly to the beginning of the cycle described by
Ibn Khaldoun. During this period, inventions made by engineers such as Eli Whitney, which
have had a major impact on the textile and armament industries, contributed to the
SAHIB Amal-Oudiî and BOUAZIZ Abdelhaq
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development of machine tools (Rolt 1965, p 141), which allowed a very huge gain in
productivity. The consequence of this productivity gain is a new type of problem: the
abundance of manufactured goods. This problem will be accentuated later after the
development of the Scientific Management (Bevort 2013). Faced with this situation, the
solution was to stimulate consumption, which necessitated a change in the values of American
society. This shift from a "thrifty" society to a consumer society required the transformation
of luxury goods into basic necessities, through the erosion of values of savings and prudence
that should be replaced by new ones as waste and complacency. This change was achieved
through four ways (Robbins 2014, pp 14-41):
Changing marketing and advertising through four levers. The first lever affects
the meaning of goods and how to present and display them. The first pre-packaged items,
with producing company labels, were introduced in 70's of the 19th century. During the 90s of
the same century, more importance was accorded to the way of displaying goods to the
general public. At the beginning of the 20th century, department stores started to take into
account layout, decoration and entertainment. After this, department stores became the
torchbearers of civilization and modernity, showing people how to dress, decorate their home
or spend their free time. It should be noticed that the establishment of department stores in the
United States is a sign of copied lifestyle as it was stated by Ibn Khaldoun. Indeed, in 1852,
"Bon Marché" was the first department stores to open its doors around the world. People were
allowed to wander through it without obligation of purchase and it contributed to shape the
taste and the tendencies of the French bourgeoisie.
The second lever is advertising. It was badly perceived before the 1880s. But during the
following decades, the way of seeing advertising changed completely. In 1910, the sum of
budgets spent on advertising was close to 4% of the American national income. The objective
of the advertising industry was to "create value" to goods by giving them the magic effect of
changing the consumer into a "desirable person". As well as department stores, this
metamorphosis of the way of seeing advertising can be assimilated as a copy of what was
happening in Great Britain. Indeed, according to Williams and Vernet (1990), until the 1850s,
advertising was not seen as a respectable practice in Great Britain. The development of
advertising practices started few years later, but the real signs of change began to appear in
the 1880s and 1890s.
The third lever is fashion. The main idea was to make the consumer anxious to own old-
fashioned objects. Fashion drives people to buy more products only to feel that they are in
phase with what others see as modern and fashionable.
The fourth lever concerns the introduction of the concept of services. The aim was to
mask the inequality and to persuade the consumer that this way of life is much more
comfortable and that the capitalism has a benevolent side.
Rebuilding and reconfiguring the principal social institutions (such as
administration, universities, social and cultural institutions ...) by redefining their roles in
order to integrate the promotion of consumption. Thus, early in the 20th century, universities
integrate design, marketing or business administration curricula. Museums organize
consumer-related events such as cloth and fashion exhibitions. Federal and local
administrations interest was centered on the consumption part of business’s cycle. This led
them to undertake some actions such as the Census of Distribution, initiated between 1926
and 1928 and whose “goal was to break down all barriers between the consumers and
commodities”. This survey will be copied by other countries in the 1950s.
Contemporary Model of Consumption: A Historical Overview and Correspondence with
Ibn Khaldoun’s Consumption Cycle
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Access to real estate was also exploited by promoting individual home ownership. The
Commerce Department has promoted the idea that every American has the right to own the
house that meets his desires and that every child must have his own room.
The worker was also targeted by turning him into a "machine to work and consume".
Indeed, the introduction of the assembly line and the division of labor in Ford's factories
provoked resistance from the workers who were forced to repeat the same action every 10
seconds for 9 hours. The solution proposed by Ford was to raise wages from $ 2 or $ 3 per
day to $ 5 per day (it consisted of a fixed amount of $ 2.34 and a profit-sharing of $ 2.66 if the
worker is a man and he is 22 years old or older (Bevort 2013)). This action was accompanied
by a working hour’s reduction (8 hours per day instead of 9). The increase in wages meant
that the purchasing power of the workers increased and they became Ford customers. Other
manufacturers did the same. Thus, between 1910 and 1929, wages increased by 40% which
allowed the workers to buy more and subsequently they help to maintain the circle of
production and consumption (Beder 2004). This increase in purchasing power has been
combined with better access to credit. Credit’s granting was based on a blind trust in the US
economy and on the assumption that people will have enough to pay once the payment
deadline arrives. As well as the worker, the status of children has been changed. The working
child who contributed to the domestic economy by being involved in the family work or
working elsewhere left his place to a school-going child. The change occurred gradually
during the 19th century and it led to a redefinition and reconstruction of childhood. Thus, the
main idea of recommendations made by psychologists, home economists and the
administration is that the child has his own needs which must be met through some kind of
goods (single room, toys, furniture adapted ...): the child consumer was born.
Transforming spiritual and intellectual values. This change was necessary to
stimulate consumption. Thus, American society has migrated from a value system based on
modesty, abnegation, a thrifty lifestyle to a system based on conspicuous consumption,
individualism and self-satisfaction. Goods have become a source of satisfaction and vital tools
of assertiveness. The birth of mind cure religions and the new methods of therapy (especially
in psychology) helped to facilitate this change in values. In these religions, the main preached
idea is that we should not wait for eternal life to achieve salvation and that it is possible to
have a life without suffering in the earthly paradise in which consumer goods are of great
importance.
Redesigning the position of individuals and their social class. The "need to
consume" has led to a reorganization of living spaces and contributed to the creation of new
sectors to encourage consumption. At the same time, it has changed the way people see each
other.
4. PERPETUATION AND EXPORT OF THE MODEL
During the 30s of the 20th century, consumption was entrenched in American society because
of promoting and extending practices, and also because of the spiritual and rational
framework which justified it. At this level, it is possible to consider that the "basic" model is
complete. Then, two actions follow: perpetuation and the export of this model.
As it has been argued, the dominated always tend to imitate the dominator (Ibn Khaldoun
2003, pp 176-177). After the Second World War, the influence on the world was shared by
two dominating empires: The USSR and the USA. The first influenced the communist sphere;
the second reigned over the Western world. The European Recovery Program also known as
Marshall Plan was the tool through which the American model has been setting up in Europe.
Consumption was implanted in its core and what's more all US directors of the Marshall Plan
SAHIB Amal-Oudiî and BOUAZIZ Abdelhaq
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in Europe were advertising professionals (Kroen 2005). The same can be said for Japan,
which was occupied by the United States of America from 1945 to 1952. Under the direct
American administration, the political, economic and educational systems were reshaped and
the seeds of consumer society were planted. The mid-1950s, a rapid growth of the consumer
society was observed in the majority of Western European countries and Japan (Rosenberg
2009). This illustrates the preponderance of the American lifestyle, in Ibn Khaldoun’s sense,
which goes hand in hand with the status of the United States as the dominant nation.
The action of perpetuation concerned in the first place the American society. This does not
mean that it is absent in other countries because the dominant /dominated logic is always
present: the influence of the United States and large firms contributes to the perpetuation and
expansion of the consumerist lifestyle elsewhere. This process is very advanced in Europe and
is gaining more and more ground on other continents (Schor 1999).
According to Schor (1999), the context that governed the development and expansion of
American society was characterized by a rise in urbanization and formal education, as well as
a decline in traditional social relations. Postwar literature focuses on the comparison that
families or individuals made with entities which have the same economic level. One of the
results of this comparison was the emphasis on expenditure, which gave goods a symbolic
importance. Thus, belonging to a well-defined social class implies the consumption of a
"minimum required" of goods and services. This minimum was in perpetual extension. For,
Schor this is a competitive consumption operation. In this context, individuals and households
who could not achieve a certain standard of living are under a great pressure.
Rather than providing an absolute satisfaction, this competitive consumption provides a
relative one because it relates to reference group’s consumption. In addition, it does not affect
all types of products but only visible ones (during use or possession). In general, consumers
tend to reduce expenses that do not reflect social status to invest in visible products.
This phase will last until the 1980s when a more aggressive consumerism sprang up as a
consequence of changing reference groups: they are no longer horizontal but vertical. People
compare themselves to people of higher classes. The main place of comparison has also
changed. It is no longer the neighborhood or the nearest entourage, but rather the place of
work. Even traditional social relations (friends, neighbors, ...) have been replaced by
television, which has become an important source to know other person’s expenditure.
Generally, television programs tend to present upper classes’ high-spending lifestyle and
as a consequence, the image created in viewer’s mind about lifestyle is erroneous which
drives the less well-off classes to consider that the upper class’s cultural symbols are very
important and must be bought. Thus, more and more people think that owning goods can
guarantee a good life and that luxury goods are necessities. The vicious circle does not stop
here. Wealth concentration continues to increase and this push the richest to more and more
engagement in the process of competitive spending. In the same time, the aspirations of the
less well-off classes are growing as their income levels fall and this create what Schor calls
"aspirational gap" which continues to grow. In this sense, a study carried out in the United
States, showed that between 1986 and 1994, the level of income necessary to fulfill the
dreams of a family doubled during this period and that it is more than twice the national
average household income.
This aspirational gap is closely linked to consumers’ behavior excesses especially the drop
in savings, the increase in indebtedness, the impulse purchase syndrome and violent behaviors
(armed robbery, theft, …) triggered by the desire to buy luxury goods. The erosion of