Consumer capitalism is a theoretical economic and political condition in which consumer demand is manipulated, in a deliberate and coordinated way, on a very large scale, through mass-marketing techniques, to the advantage of sellers.

The theory is controversial. It suggests manipulation of consumer demand so potent that it has a coercive effect, amounts to a departure from free-market capitalism, and has an adverse effect on society in general. Some use the phrase as shorthand for the broader idea that the interests of other non-business entities (governments, religions, the military, educational institutions) are intertwined with corporate business interests, and that those entities also participate in the management of social expectations through mass media.

The origins of consumer capitalism are found in the development of American department stores in the 1850s, notably the advertising and marketing innovations at Wanamaker's in Philadelphia. Leach argues there was indeed a deliberate and coordinated effort among American 'captains of industry' to detach consumer demand from 'needs' (which can be satisfied) to 'wants' (which may remain unsatisfied). This cultural shift represented by the department store is also explored in Emile Zola's 1883 novel Au Bonheur des Dames, which describes the workings and the appeal of a fictionalized version of Le Bon Marché.

Justin Lewis is Professor of Communication and Head of the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University. He returned to Britain in 2000, having worked for 12 years in the United States at the University of Massachusetts.

He has written widely about media, culture and politics. Recent books include Constructing Public Opinion (New York: Columbia University Press, 2001), Citizens or Consumers: What the media tell us about political participation (Open University Press, 2005), and Shoot First and Ask Questions Later: Media Coverage of the War in Iraq (Peter Lang, in press). He is also the Series Editor for the list in Media and Culture for Peter Lang Publishers, and has produced edited collections for Blackwell’s and Westview Press.

He has written articles for The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and The Boston Globe, and is a regular commentator on media, politics and cultural issues for regional and national US and UK media, including BBC Radio 5 Live, the Today programme, BBC TV News, The Independent, The Washington Post, the NBC Today Show, and National Public Radio. He has written and presented two videos: Getting The Message Across and Constructing Public Opinion for the Media Education Foundation.

Gregg "Opie" Hughes (born May 23, 1963) and Anthony Cumia (born April 26, 1961) are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM. It is co-hosted by stand up comedian Jim Norton. Based in New York City, the show was previously on WXRK-FM and WNEW-FM in New York, and prior to that, on WAAF-FM in Boston, Massachusetts.

On April 26, 2006, Opie and Anthony returned to the terrestrial airwaves after a four year absence, replacing CBS Radio's short-lived David Lee Roth Show, which aired mainly on the eastern coast of the United States. The terrestrial portion of the show ran until March 9, 2009. The team was terminated by WXRK-FM when it flipped formats from rock to Top 40.

The Opie & Anthony Show airs weekdays live from 6am through 10am ET exclusively on XM Radio Channel 105 and Sirius Radio Channel 206 "The Opie & Anthony Channel". Replays are available throughout the day on their XM and Sirius channels and on audible.com.