Ayn Rand – The Modern Frame

An Introduction to Consumer Society

Our modern lives have become increasingly characterized by consumption. This is not to say that we merely aspire to consume, but that a life of consuming has itself (to varying degrees) become necessary in contemporary Western society.¹ Indeed, the everyday consumption of products and services has gained a prominence hitherto unknown. No sooner are the objects of our desire obtained, before others, new and unforeseen, present themselves. The ends of consumer society lure us onward and “upward”, into a sort of Sisyphean cycle.² In previous essays I have mentioned consumer society, but have yet failed to offer a more comprehensive explanation of what I mean. What exactly I mean, as well as some account of both how it developed and some of its effects, is what I hope to begin exploring in this essay.³

Three Spheres of Influence

There are many aspects of the world we inhabit which affect us in different ways. Those which yield the most power, and thereby affect us the most, I will refer to as “spheres” or spheres of influence. They describe specific aspects of our world, the investigation of which may help us come to a better understanding of our contemporary situation. Many of the essays published on The Modern Frame will refer to these spheres of influence (e.g., “a growing sphere of economy”).

Preliminary Thoughts on How We Adopt The Modern Frame

Something that has been asserted in both the Introduction and A General Overview is the idea that modernity “presses upon us certain presuppositions, paradigms, and ways of thinking about our world and ourselves”. What this means, exactly, and how it happens may not be entirely clear. Nor is it obvious what sort of things I am referring to, though the list of ideas and circumstances mentioned in the overview should offer some clues.