This book examines the relationships between the social problems of the mass age, developments in late twentieth-century capitalism, the growth of a mass media advertising system, and the operation and assumptions of liberal democracy. Advertising must sell, not only goods and services, but also definitions of life and of status, images, hopes and feelings. In turn, the very universality of advertising, and its acceptance as a mode of communication, have forced the political system into the same mould.

This book examines the relationships between the social problems of the mass age, developments in late twentieth-century capitalism, the growth of a mass media advertising system, and the operation and assumptions of liberal democracy. Advertising must sell, not only goods and services, but also definitions of life and of status, images, hopes and feelings. In turn, the very universality of advertising, and its acceptance as a mode of communication, have forced the political system into the same mould.

This book examines the relationships between the social problems of the mass age, developments in late twentieth-century capitalism, the growth of a mass media advertising system, and the operation and assumptions of liberal democracy. Advertising must sell, not only goods and services, but also definitions of life and of status, images, hopes and feelings. In turn, the very universality of advertising, and its acceptance as a mode of communication, have forced the political system into the same mould.