Selling desire: Gender constructs, social stratification, and the commercialization of modern living

Since at least the early twentieth century, US ideas of modernity have been strongly linked to the concepts of both innovation and planned obsolescence. As a nation, the US has retained an identity as a powerhouse, not only of new technologies, but also of the processes of their production. In almost every year since 1890, the US has led the world in patent grants awarded, often producing more than twice the number of patents than the country in second place. 2 Yet innovation has been only half the story. Since the late nineteenth century, the US has embraced both a capitalist and in many respects libertarian business model. This model seeks to maximize profits through mass production rather than higher prices and, in comparison to many European countries, little regulation aside from that which guarantees “free trade.”.