Vance Packard and The Hidden Persuaders
The continuing relevance of Vance Packard in an age of consumerism, social and corporate climbing, planned obsolescence, and surveillance capitalism.
During my research, doing coursework and earning credits while also working elsewhere was a challenge. The institute then had no course specifically designed for research students barring one on research methodology. For the others, one had to sit with MBA students. The customisation came in assignments and, I presume, higher expectations in overall performance. This arrangement was, of course, far from being a satisfactory experience.
Two doctoral-level courses on consumer behaviour with four credits each came as a boon. Most of us opted for them.
The course was an eyeopener as to the extent of research that goes into making hapless consumers buy what they might not want or even need. I presume this is because large corporates establish academic chairs. They are also significant funders of management departments and their research. I asked my professor whether any study addressed these issues from the consumer’s point of view. He mentioned one book, the title of which escapes my mind at the time of this writing.
Watching a stray Malayalam video on precautions while shopping at a supermarket reminded me of Vance Packard (1914-1996), the pioneering social critic. The most important of his books included The Hidden Persuaders and The Naked Society, both New York Times bestsellers for several weeks in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
This post is as much on the continuing relevance of Packard as on his first bestseller, The Hidden Persuaders. I am keeping the original intention of writing on supermarkets for another day.