Consumer's Republic Response

The Consumer's Republic affected more aspects of American life than I previously would have expected. I think that Cohen's depiction of how economic conditions shaped the political and social culture in America was very enlightening. I previously understood the Cold War climate as one that intertwined foreign policy, national defense, and the national economy, with the political context of foreign policy shaping aspects of race politics and social norms at home. However, I never understood how extensive the impacts of consumerism were, especially in terms of gender and race dynamics. I was surprised to learn that there were two ideological views of consumers, as citizen consumers and as purchaser consumers, that were vying for dominance within society. I had only expected the idea of a purchaser consumer to be visible.
Furthermore, I find Cohen's description of the impact that the role of the household consumer had on women very interesting. I think that it is well known that women shaped the first wave of feminism and their claims to equality around the notion that they were the moral teachers of the world, and that their role in the domestic sphere created the space for them to enter the public sphere. However, I always believed that women entered the public scene in the second wave of feminism through their participaton in the Civil Rights Movement, and I was surprised to learn that they had previously made waves in the political arena as consumers fighting for fair wages, price controls, etc. I think that Cohen's in-depth coverage of this issue is extremely important and offers a thorough analysis of an issue that is not stressed in the study of American history and culture as it should.