Schor's Essay 'The Creation Of Discontent'
What We Want vs. What We Need
The topic of consumerism is always a sensitive subject when addressing its cons and pros. The question of how much is too much and the worry that too much is never enough are often used to debate this issue. Authors Llewllyn H. Rockwell and Juliet Schor both have written essays about consumerism and its effect on American life. In Rockwell's "In Defense of Consumerism", he addresses the more positive attributes that are made possible due to mass consumerism. He is a political commentator and his background gives him an economic view. On the other side of the spectrum, Schor explains the negative effects mass consumerism has on the people in the United States in her essay "The Creation of Discontent". She is a sociology professor who has researched trends in consumerism. Although both authors address consumerism being an issue, their uses of evidence, writing structure and content differ in these two essays and Schor has the stronger argument.
The use of evidence contrasts in these two essays when addressing different subjects regarding consumerism. In "The Creation of
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However, Schor produced a more logical and ethical argument that was presented with compelling confirmation. In "The Creation of Discontent", she leaves a lasting impression on the reader with the way she structures her writing and content use. Rockwell's "In Defense of Consumerism" could have been a great counter argument response to Schor if it didn't lack the basic fundamentals that go into writing a persuasive essay. By not presenting the reader with any hard evidence to support his opinion, his essay is left with no credibility. Coming from a neutral perspective, Schor's essay is overall more effective than Rockwell's essay by the way she presented and conducted her reasoning on the topic of
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