If everyone were satisfied, no one would buy the new thing because no one would want it. The ore wouldn’t be mined; timber wouldn’t be cut. Almost immediately hard times would be upon us. You must accept this reasonable dissatisfaction with what you have and buy the new thing, or accept hard times. You can have your choice.
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| — | This is the conclusion of an article titled “Keep the Consumer Dissatisfied,” written by Charles F. Kettering in 1929. Kettering was head of research for General Motors from 1920 to 1947. I learned of this article via another article titled “The Gospel of Consumption,” which says this of Kettering: “Along with many of his corporate cohorts, he was defining a strategic shift for American industry—from fulfilling basic human needs to creating new ones.” |
