The Politics of Authenticity

"For nearly half a century, advertisers have been relentlessly selling us the idea that we can create individuality through consumption. We've seen this 30-second mini-drama played out thousands of times: individuals are emancipated by a product that perfectly captures their rebellion against The Man, their pathbreaking uniqueness allowing them to cast off stifling conformity and smash convention as the stuffy agents of the establishment look on in horror. A 1965 print ad reproduced in Thomas Frank's The Conquest of Cool: Business Culture, Counterculture, and Rise of Hip Consumerism purrs to potential car buyers, 'Listen. Those sounds you hear are habits breaking. Ties snapping. Records falling. They're the happy sounds of the Dodge Rebellion.' To this day, Madison Avenue assures us that nearly every product on the market is a way of flaunting our distinctiveness.
"When you do so, you don't just separate yourself from the pack, you become real, not just a consumer but a genuine human being. You may live in a boring town and work at a boring job, but with the right combination of purchases you can create for yourself a life of authenticity, something fundamental and true."

In The American Prospect, Paul Waldman explores why Americans crave an "authentic" presidential candidate.