Question

Why are consumers unhappy with commodities that they have just bought?

• A. Because television commercials do not create enough hype about commodities.
• B. Because they have exaggerated expectations of commodities.
• C. Because the Law of Diminishing Marginal Commodities comes into play.
• D. Because they focus on improved functionality of commodities.
• A. Production and consumption are magical processes.
• B. Consumers value signs more than the real.
• C. Melanesian people coped with the inequality of colonialism by creating myths.
• D. Television commercials are at the heart of unhappiness experienced by consumers.
• A. By banning television commercials that promise real happiness.
• B. By understanding the connection between production and consumption.
• C. By recognising that commodities produce miraculous change.
• D. By rejecting colonialism and all other forms of economic oppression.
• A. He uses it to describe the suffering of Indigenous people.
• B. He uses it to show that consumers should consume more serious objects.
• C. He uses it as a metaphor to critique modern consumption.
• D. He uses it to show that consumption is a blessing.
• A. It comes with patience and waiting.
• B. It results from ethical consumption.
• C. It prioritises production over consumption.
• D. It is perpetually delayed.
• A. It is a positive process.
• B. It is an egalitarian process.
• C. It is an irrational process.
• D. It is a utilitarian process.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question asks for the reason behind consumer dissatisfaction with their purchases, according to Baudrillard's argument in the passage.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The third paragraph explicitly addresses this: "However, consumption does not usually lead to happiness. While consumers should ideally be blaming their heightened expectations for their lack of happiness, they blame the commodity instead." This directly states that the cause of unhappiness is their "heightened expectations," which is synonymous with "exaggerated expectations."
Step 3: Final Answer:
Consumers are unhappy with commodities they have just bought because they have exaggerated expectations of commodities.

Answer 2

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question requires identifying a central argument of Baudrillard's theory as presented in the text.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The fourth paragraph contains a key argument: "Baudrillard argues that consumers have replaced 'real' happiness with 'signs' of happiness." This directly supports option (2), which states that consumers value signs more than the real. The "signs" are the commodities they buy, which they believe will bring happiness, but the "real" happiness never arrives.
Option (1) misinterprets the passage; Baudrillard argues consumers *experience* consumption as magical, not that it *is* magical. Option (3) is an interpretation of the cargo myth's origin but not Baudrillard's central argument about modern consumption. Option (4) is a contributing factor, but the core argument is the replacement of the real with signs.
Step 3: Final Answer:
An argument made by Baudrillard is that consumers value signs more than the real.

Answer 3

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question asks for the implied solution to the problem of unsatisfying consumption, based on Baudrillard's critique.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The final paragraph highlights the core problem: "commodities appear to be distanced from the social processes which lead to their production. In effect, objects of consumption are divorced from the reality which produces them." The dissatisfaction arises because consumption is seen as a "miracle," disconnected from the reality of work and production. The logical solution, therefore, is to bridge this gap. If the problem is the divorce between consumption and production, the solution is to understand their connection. This makes option (2) the most logical answer derived from the text.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Consumption can be made more satisfying by understanding the connection between production and consumption.

Answer 4

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks about the purpose of introducing the "cargo myth" in Baudrillard's analysis.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The second paragraph ends with a crucial sentence: "Baudrillard believes that the cargo myth holds an important analogy for the ways in which consumers engage with objects of consumption." The word "analogy" is a key indicator. An analogy is a comparison or metaphor used to explain or illustrate a point. The passage then explains how modern consumers, like the Melanesians, set up "sham objects" (signs) and wait for a "miracle" (happiness). Therefore, Baudrillard uses the myth as a metaphorical framework to understand and critique modern consumer behavior.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Baudrillard engages with the cargo myth by using it as a metaphor to critique modern consumption.

Answer 5

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The question asks to identify Baudrillard's view on the attainment of "total happiness" through consumption.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The fourth paragraph provides a direct answer. It describes how consumers blame the commodity for their unhappiness and feel they should have waited for the next version. The paragraph concludes, "This results in the endless deferment of the arrival of total happiness." "Endless deferment" is synonymous with being "perpetually delayed."
Option (1) is incorrect because while consumers wait, happiness does not actually arrive. The other options are not supported by the text.
Step 3: Final Answer:
Baudrillard's position on total happiness is that it is perpetually delayed.

Answer 6

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This question asks for Baudrillard's overall characterization of modern consumption based on the passage.
Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
The entire passage describes consumption as a process based on a "magical" belief system, similar to the "cargo myth." Consumers engage with "sham objects" and wait for happiness "to alight." They view commodities as "miracles," divorced from the reality of their production. A process based on magic, miracles, and a fundamental misunderstanding of reality is, by definition, an irrational process. It is not based on logic or reason. The passage clearly shows consumption is not positive (it leads to unhappiness), not egalitarian (the myth starts from inequality), and not utilitarian (it's about signs, not utility).
Step 3: Final Answer:
Baudrillard's position on consumption is that it is an irrational process.