Why do people almost never talk about personal accountability when they denounce evil commerce?
Certainly, marketers should operate with intelligence and integrity. But, we the people always, always have control over the button, dial, or on-off switch. And, we can make choices (really). If millions of alcoholics can get and stay sober, despite soul-deep craving – we can surely just say no to Barbie, burgers, and the rest of the junk. General Mills doesn’t hold a gun to people’s heads and force them to feed their kids Cookie Crunch. MacDonald’s doesn’t break down our doors and drag us to stuff down Happy Meals. You never even have to go to the toy store, much less walk down the Barbie aisle. And, you can throw those pizza coupons right into the trash! Here Ms. Schmidt “blames the victim.” The notion of “free will” is the underlying foundation for “personal responsibility.” Yet the whole point of marketing is to influence people, to reduce their potential to act as an agent of free will, to induce compliance in market behavior. Marketers spend millions, if not billions, of dollars
