Directions of the Consumer Movement

Report Outline
Rising Concern for Consumer Rights
Growth of Industry and Consumerism
Effort to Consolidate Consumer Movement
Special Focus

Rising Concern for Consumer Rights

Size and Shapelessness of the Consumer Movement

If the sixties were a decade of militant minorities demanding civil rights, the 1970s may prove to be the decade of the militant majority demanding consumer rights. Every American is a consumer, from the president of General Motors to the assembly-line worker in a Chevrolet plant. The consumer movement, then, has virtually unlimited membership potential and hence should have the power to sweep all opposition aside. Private consumer groups are active at the federal, state, and local levels, as are government-supported consumer-protection agencies. But the consumer movement, if large, is diffuse. Concerted action by consumer groups is difficult to achieve, and the fragmented and overlapping authority of government agencies can and does lead to buck-passing and inaction.

Various moves now are under way to bring unity and strength to the consumer movement. Ralph Nader is attempting to form an army of “public citizens” to safeguard the rights of consumers. Moreover, the several Nader organizations and other consumer groups are pressing Congress to enact legislation setting up independent agencies in government to look after product safety and consumer protection. Floor action on these measures is expected in 1972.

The growth of “consumerism” probably was inevitable. President Nixon, in proposing a “Buyer's Bill of Rights” on Oct. 30, 1969, stated that, “To their credit, producers and sellers have generally become far more responsible with the passing years, but even the limited abuses which occur now have greater impact.” He explained: