The Impact of Transcendentalism on Henry David Thoreau’s Perspectives on Consumerist Principles

Abstract

The principal objective of this investigation was to explore the impact of the philosophy of transcendentalism on Henry David Thoreau’s perspectives on consumerist principles as described in a Life without Principle. In this study, the impact of transcendentalism was examined through the lenses of industrialization, consumerism, and capitalism. The transcendentalist elements of individualism, denouncing large institutions, refuge in nature, rejection of conformity, and free religious practice were analyzed to determine the impact the philosophy had on Henry David Thoreau. By analyzing industrialization through the transcendentalist lens, it became clear Thoreau rejected environmental degradation and strict religious rules. The negative impacts of the materialistic mindset, historically heightened by the Gold Rush, and social conformity became evident through the study of consumerism. Additionally, instrumental reasoning and political atomism espoused in the economic ideology of capitalism were rejected by Thoreau. This study provides evidence that transcendentalist elements led Thoreau to value nature, reject large societal institutions and collectivization, and conclude that consumerism promoted meaningless purchasing cycles.