Leisure as Consumption

Agenda• Introduction of Debate• Brief History of Leisure as Over-Consumption

– (Dustin)

• Current Over-Consumption and Leisure – (Alicia and Collin)

• Leisure without consumption – (Julian and Tom)

• Class Activity

History of Leisure as Over-Consumption

Spectator sports start to (re) emerge in the mid-1800’s•Spectator /participant status determined by social class•Other commercial amusements took hold in the early 19th century (dime museums, dance halls, shooting galleries, bowling alleys, billiards halls, amusement parks, etc.) that were all forms of paid entertainment.•Thorstein Veblen’s “Theory of the Leisure Class”

•State that the possession and visible use of leisure throughout the ages in Europe had become a symbol for the upper class. Began seeing this in America in the late 19th century.•Coined the terms “idle rich”, “conspicuous consumption” and “conspicuous leisure”.•Thought wealthy members of society exploited a culture of consumption is which the rich depended on the labor of the lower classes.•Modern example: early 2000’s rap videos

History (Cont.)• Early 1900’s

– Appearance of many more forms of leisure and entertainment that must be paid for.

– Creation of a working and middle class that had money and time to use for leisure.

• Post World War II•The Gross National Product (GNP) in the US went from $211 billion in 1945 to over a trillion dollars in 1971.•In the 1950s an estimated $30 billion/year was spent on leisure compared to $756 billion in 2005.•During the counterculture movement of the 1960s the idea that attaining a respectable position in the workplace was lost, a rejection of the work ethic that had been present since the protestant reformation and industrial revolution.

•Trend in the 1990’s•The increase of wealth families in the US was not met by a decline in families below the poverty line (stratification).•This wealthy class became caught up in spending on luxury items like cars, yachts, McMansions, clothing, toys, travel, etc.•The attempts by privatized businesses to make the leisure market as lucrative as possible took the leisure experience away from being a rewarding, creative experience and turned it into a past-time requiring the mass consumption of market-produced goods and services

Over Consumption and Leisure

Above: levels of energy production and consumptions. Top Right: Finances vs. Leisure, unnecessaryBottom Right: Electronics leading to lower levels of active leisure

Leisure and Overconsumption • More free time= more consumption• “People with a 5-day week will consume more goods than

the people with a 6-day week. People who have more leisure have more clothes, have a greater variety of food, have more transportation facilities and have more service of various kinds. This increased consumption will require greater production than we now have. Instead of business being slowed up because the people are ‘off work’, it will be speeded up ... This will lead to more production, more profits and more wages. The result of more leisure will be the exact opposite of what most people might suppose it to be.” –Henry Ford

Free Leisure

• We live in a time when

practically everything costs money, especially leisure. Even if you do not pay for the activity itself, you have to pay for the equipment you use, whether it’s a paint brush, guitar, spatula or hiking boots. So what can you do that doesn’t cost money?

• Meditation• Reading• Walking• Story telling• Socializing• Singing• Natural art • Skipping stones• Climbing trees• Imagination

Cheap Leisure

• Some forms of leisure require one-time purchases.

• Others are relatively cheap but require supplementary costs– (Transportation,

Maintenance, etc.)

• Kayaking

• Biking

• Sports Equipment

• Hiking

• Aquatic Activities

• Fishing

CLASS ACTIVITY

• Groups of 3• Each group given note card with activity on it• Discuss how expensive the activity would be• One group member places note card on board

in corresponding price range• Class discussion to follow – be prepared to

explain your position