The US Consumer Movement: A New Era Amid Old Challenges*

According to social science theory, the US consumer movement should either never have existed or ceased to exist by now. During the 1960s, Olson (1965) explained in his book The Logic of Collective Action why the efforts to provide pure public goods for a large constituency (in this case, consumer advocacy and policies that, if provided at all, are available to everyone) was doomed by the free rider problem. In 1972, economist Anthony Downs described how issues such as environmentalism and consumerism had short shelf lives (Downs 1972). After a period of initial public enthusiasm, people, he believed, would lose interest in these issues as they learned about the high costs of addressing them. In 1981, marketing professors Paul Bloom and Stephen Greyser compared the consumer movement to a product or service in the declining stages of its life cycle. Bloom and Greyser (1981) painted a picture of consumer organizations competing with each other in an intense struggle for survival. A 50TH ANNIVERSARY Despite the theoretical reasons why the US consumer movement should not exist, here we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's Message to Congress on Protecting the Consumer Interest (Kennedy 1962). In a speech that is often used to mark the beginning of the third wave of the consumer movement, Kennedy laid out four consumer rights: (1) the right to safety, (2) the fight to be informed (and protected from fraudulent practices), (3)the right to choose among a variety of products and services at competitive prices and (4) the right to be heard in the formulation of government policy. What is perhaps less well known is that President Kennedy also created, within his Council of Economic Advisors, a Consumers' Advisory Council "to examine and provide advice to the government on issues of broad economic policy, on governmental programs protecting consumer needs, and on needed improvements." The twelve appointees to the Consumers' Advisory Council were a "who's who" of the consumer leaders of the time (Consumer Reports 1962). One of these members was Dr. Colston E. Warne, president of the country's preeminent consumer organization, Consumers Union (CU) and an ACCI Distinguished Fellow. The Council also contained two other future ACCI Fellows--Helen Nelson and Richard L.D. Morse. President Kennedy convened the first Council meeting in July 1962. At the meeting, the President told the Council members that he wanted them to "come forward with as many important decisions and proposals as you can, and bring them to my attention." Kennedy told the Council that they were not "window dressing" and that he hoped, well beyond his administration, that the Council would be "a definite part of our governmental structure." After Kennedy's assassination, President Lyndon Johnson took the bold step of establishing the first White House Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. Johnson chose Esther Peterson, after whom another distinguished lectureship at this conference is named. The Consumers' Advisory Council was folded into a new entity, the President's Committee on Consumer Interests. The Committee reported to the new Special Assistant but never became as influential as perhaps President Kennedy had hoped. ACCI members, however, were willing and active participants in the consumer movement of the 1960s. ADDITIONAL CONSUMER RIGHTS AND SIGNS OF MOVEMENT STRENGTH Building on the platform erected by President Kennedy, consumer organizations have expanded and reordered the list of consumer rights. The list used today by Consumers International and consumer groups around the world begins with the right to satisfaction of basic needs such as food, shelter and, lest we think this right is only relevant in less developed countries, health care. The list also includes the rights to redress, consumer education and a healthy environment. Momentum is currently strong for adding a ninth consumer right--the right to privacy. …