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The '''consumer economy''' is that portion of the overall economic system that is dependent on individual or household consumer expenditures. Goods that embody the consumer economy would include [[food]], clothing, housing, [[furniture]], appliances, [[automobile]]s, etc.; while services that comprise the consumer economy would include [[restaurant]]s, private hospital care, personal [[bank]]ing, commercial airlines, etc. Thus, the consumer economy is distinct from (yet related to) the industrial economy which emphasizes trade between corporations (investment banking, industrial machinery, [[chemical]]s, etc.), and the public sector which involves the delivery of governmental services (bridges and roads, sewer, public education, etc.).
The '''consumer economy''' is that portion of the overall economic system that is dependent on individual or household consumer expenditures. Goods that embody the consumer economy would include [[food]], clothing, housing, [[furniture]], appliances, [[automobile]]s, etc.; while services that comprise the consumer economy would include [[restaurant]]s, private hospital care, personal [[bank]]ing, commercial airlines, etc. Thus, the consumer economy is distinct from (yet related to) the industrial economy which emphasizes trade between corporations (investment banking, industrial machinery, [[chemical]]s, etc.), and the public sector which involves the delivery of governmental services (bridges and roads, sewer, public education, etc.).
When the economy of a nation is described as a '''consumer economy''' (sometimes '''[[consumer society]]'''), this implies that the nation's prosperity is significantly based in sustainable consumer demand for goods and services. Generally, such goods and services are obtained through exchange and not through self-production. Economists have suggested that, in a consumer economy, the concept of "enough, or more than enough" is undermined; the demand for goods and services, and the availability of income to purchase them, is assumed to be constant.<ref>John K. Galbraith, "Foreword" in Neva R. Goodwin, Frank Ackerman and David Kiron (eds), ''The Consumer Society'' (Island Press, WashingtonD.C., 1997, page xxi)</ref> The result is a close relationship between employment and income from employment on the one hand, and production of goods and services on the other.<ref>Ibid.</ref> It has been said that "(a) consumerist society is one in which the possession of an increasing number and variety of goods and services is the highest cultural aspiration and the surest perceived route to personal happiness, social status, and national success."<ref>Jerome Segal, "Alternatives to Mass Consumption" ''Philosophy and Public Affairs'' 15:4, 1995, pages 27 to 29.</ref>
==History==
==History==
