Where We Stand: Class Matters

hooks explores how consumer culture shapes the values of modern youth, replacing political engagement with material aspiration. While the United States once promoted itself as a classless society, she notes that the dominant fantasy has shifted, encouraging everyone to believe they can be wealthy. Advertising fosters this illusion, constructing a world where class boundaries seem to disappear through consumption.

Teenagers, the largest consumer demographic, are especially vulnerable to the message that “we are what we possess” (81). Studies show they prioritize shopping over other activities, spending an average of $20 per day. With economic success increasingly linked to identity, young people see status as determined by brand names and luxury goods. This consumerist mindset creates a symbolic “classless” society, where shared consumption replaces meaningful solidarity. In this imagined world, racism and class struggles are erased via mutual participation in the marketplace.

However, hooks highlights the psychological consequences of this consumer-driven ideology. Those unable to afford luxury goods experience envy and shame, leading to cycles of internalized worthlessness and externalized violence. She notes that ”among the poor this envy-based greed has produced a predatory culture where young people randomly slaughter each other over material possessions” (83). Even affluent youth, conditioned to see their worth in material terms, engage in destructive behaviors when confronted with greater privilege.