{"id":1768,"date":"2026-08-15T23:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T02:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/editoranorat.com.br\/scientiaetratio\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T02:21:13","slug":"the-formation-of-consumer-society-in-the-postwar-period-and-the-consolidation-of-legal-consumer-protection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/editoranorat.com.br\/scientiaetratio\/the-formation-of-consumer-society-in-the-postwar-period-and-the-consolidation-of-legal-consumer-protection\/","title":{"rendered":"THE FORMATION OF CONSUMER SOCIETY IN THE POSTWAR PERIOD AND THE CONSOLIDATION OF LEGAL CONSUMER PROTECTION"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A FORMA\u00c7\u00c3O DA SOCIEDADE DE CONSUMO NO P\u00d3S-GUERRA E A CONSOLIDA\u00c7\u00c3O DA PROTE\u00c7\u00c3O JUR\u00cdDICA DO CONSUMIDOR<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Artigo submetido em 14 de agosto de 2026
Artigo aprovado em 15 de agosto de 2026
Artigo publicado em 15 de agosto de 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientia et Ratio<\/strong>
Volume 6 \u2013 N\u00famero 10 \u2013 2026
ISSN 2525-8532<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Autor:
<\/strong>Paloma Jessica da Silva Jeronimo[1]<\/a>
Vit\u00f3ria Beatriz dos Santos Gomes[2]<\/a>
Markus Samuel Leite Norat[3]<\/sup><\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract<\/strong> : This article analyzes the relationship between the consolidation of consumer society in the post-World War II period and the development of legal consumer protection. It starts from the premise that the world conflict did not, in isolation, constitute the origin of consumer society, but represented an important factor in accelerating the industrial, technological, and economic transformations that, in the post-war period, favored the expansion of mass production and the consumer market. The expansion of the supply of goods and services, associated with advertising, credit, and the massification of contractual relations, contributed to the deepening of the existing asymmetry between suppliers and consumers. In this context, the article examines how consumer vulnerability came to justify state intervention in private relations, culminating in the consolidation of a specific legal system of protection. Through bibliographic and documentary research, the historical foundations of consumer society and its influence on the construction of Consumer Law are analyzed, with special attention to the Brazilian legal system, the 1988 Federal Constitution, and the Consumer Protection Code. It can be concluded that legal consumer protection should be understood as a response to the structural transformations brought about by consumer society, seeking to restore balance in market relations without compromising free enterprise and economic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keywords:<\/strong> Consumer society. Post-war. Consumer vulnerability. Consumer law. Consumer Protection Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resumo: <\/strong>O presente artigo analisa a rela\u00e7\u00e3o entre a consolida\u00e7\u00e3o da sociedade de consumo no per\u00edodo posterior \u00e0 Segunda Guerra Mundial e o desenvolvimento da prote\u00e7\u00e3o jur\u00eddica do consumidor. Parte-se da premissa de que o conflito mundial n\u00e3o constituiu, isoladamente, a origem da sociedade de consumo, mas representou importante fator de acelera\u00e7\u00e3o das transforma\u00e7\u00f5es industriais, tecnol\u00f3gicas e econ\u00f4micas que favoreceram, no p\u00f3s-guerra, a expans\u00e3o da produ\u00e7\u00e3o em massa e do mercado consumidor. A amplia\u00e7\u00e3o da oferta de bens e servi\u00e7os, associada \u00e0 publicidade, ao cr\u00e9dito e \u00e0 massifica\u00e7\u00e3o das rela\u00e7\u00f5es contratuais, contribuiu para o aprofundamento da assimetria existente entre fornecedores e consumidores. Nesse contexto, o artigo examina como a vulnerabilidade do consumidor passou a justificar a interven\u00e7\u00e3o do Estado nas rela\u00e7\u00f5es privadas, culminando na consolida\u00e7\u00e3o de um sistema jur\u00eddico espec\u00edfico de prote\u00e7\u00e3o. Por meio de pesquisa bibliogr\u00e1fica e documental, s\u00e3o analisados os fundamentos hist\u00f3ricos da sociedade de consumo e sua influ\u00eancia sobre a constru\u00e7\u00e3o do Direito do Consumidor, com especial aten\u00e7\u00e3o ao ordenamento jur\u00eddico brasileiro, \u00e0 Constitui\u00e7\u00e3o Federal de 1988 e ao C\u00f3digo de Defesa do Consumidor. Conclui-se que a prote\u00e7\u00e3o jur\u00eddica do consumidor deve ser compreendida como resposta \u00e0s transforma\u00e7\u00f5es estruturais promovidas pela sociedade de consumo, buscando restabelecer o equil\u00edbrio nas rela\u00e7\u00f5es de mercado sem comprometer a livre iniciativa e a atividade econ\u00f4mica.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palavras-chave: <\/strong>Sociedade de consumo. P\u00f3s-guerra. Vulnerabilidade do consumidor. Direito do Consumidor. C\u00f3digo de Defesa do Consumidor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1 INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contemporary society is profoundly marked by consumption. The acquisition of goods and services has ceased to represent merely a way of satisfying material needs and has come to occupy a central position in economic and social organization. The development of markets, the expansion of product supply, and the sophistication of marketing strategies have transformed the relationships between consumers and suppliers, making them increasingly complex and asymmetrical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the origins of consumer society can be identified in earlier historical processes, especially in industrialization and the expansion of mass production, the period following the Second World War represented an important moment in the consolidation of this model. The productive and technological capacity developed during the conflict was progressively directed towards the civilian market, favoring the expansion of goods production, the expansion of credit, and the strengthening of advertising as an instrument to stimulate consumption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The massification of market relations, however, has not only produced economic benefits. The growth in the supply of products and services and the increasing specialization of suppliers have deepened the existing inequality between the parties in the consumer relationship. The consumer has come to occupy a disadvantaged position in the face of the economic, technical, and informational power of suppliers, a circumstance that has highlighted the inadequacy of traditional Civil Law instruments to ensure the balance of these relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, legal consumer protection came to be understood as a mechanism for correcting structural inequalities present in the market. Consumer vulnerability became a central foundation for state intervention, guiding the construction of norms aimed at protecting their interests and promoting more balanced consumer relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Brazil, this movement gained particular relevance with the 1988 Federal Constitution, which elevated consumer protection to the status of a fundamental right and a principle of the economic order, and with the enactment of Law No. 8,078\/1990, the Consumer Protection Code, responsible for systematizing a legal microsystem aimed at protecting consumer relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Given this panorama of profound asymmetry and complexity in commercial relations from the second half of the 20th century onwards, the following research problem emerges: how did the consolidation of consumer society in the period following the Second World War contribute to the deepening of consumer vulnerability and to the development of specific legal protections aimed at balancing market relations?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a provisional answer to this question, it is hypothesized that the transition to mass production and the consequent massification of consumption in the post-war period substantially widened the technical, economic, and informational inequalities between suppliers and consumers, rendering the classic instruments of Civil Law insufficient. As a consequence, consumer vulnerability has become a guiding legal precept for state intervention, demanding the creation of a specific legal microsystem of protection capable of restoring contractual balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To address this problem and test the hypothesis put forward, this article establishes as its general objective to analyze how the consolidation of consumer society in the period following the Second World War contributed to the deepening of consumer vulnerability and to the development of specific legal protection aimed at balancing market relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to operationalize the investigation and achieve the overall goal outlined, the following specific objectives are defined: a) to present, in a concise manner, the economic, technological and industrial transformations that occurred in the post-war period; b) to examine the consolidation of the consumer society and the consequent increase in the vulnerability (technical, economic and informational) of the consumer in the contemporary market; c) to analyze the constitutional and legal foundations of consumer protection in the Brazilian legal system, focusing on the Federal Constitution of 1988 and Law No. 8,078\/1990.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a procedural standpoint, the methodology employed to conduct the study is based on a qualitative approach of a theoretical-explanatory nature, guided by the hypothetical-deductive method. The research is strictly bibliographic and documentary, structured from the survey and examination of specialized national and foreign legal doctrine, historical data on the evolution of the market, and applicable national legislation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, for organizational purposes and to improve reader comprehension, the text is structured into three main sections in addition to this introduction and the concluding remarks. Initially, the post-war economic and industrial transformations will be addressed. Next, the consolidation of the consumer society will be examined from the perspective of consumer vulnerability. Finally, the constitutional and legal foundations that structure consumer protection in contemporary Brazil will be analyzed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The Consolidation of Consumer Society in the Post-War Period<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The period following World War II was marked by profound technological, industrial, and demographic transformations that reconfigured the foundations of global socioeconomic organization. The transition to a new urban and industrial reality culminated in the structuring of what has become known as the consumer society. This emerging economic model demanded not only a reorganization of the forces of production and circulation of wealth, but also a profound revision of traditional legal institutions, which proved insufficient to mediate the new and asymmetrical relationships established between market agents and individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.1 The expansion of production and the consumer market<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The genesis of modern consumer society is intrinsically linked to a dual movement: the technological and industrial advancements of the post-war period, which enabled large-scale production, and an unprecedented demographic restructuring driven by accelerated urbanization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In mid-1945, most of the world’s population still lived in rural areas, characterized by a subsistence model in which families produced much of what they consumed, such as food, clothing, and utensils, maintaining a limited dependence on the market. However, the intense industrial development seen in the post-war period drastically accelerated the rural exodus, attracting large populations to expanding urban centers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This demographic transition has profoundly altered the individual’s relationship with consumption. In the urban environment, citizens lose the ability to self-provide for their most basic needs: they do not grow their own food, make their own clothes, or generate their own energy or water. Consequently, survival in the city becomes entirely dependent on the market for the acquisition of essential items such as food, housing, basic sanitation, electricity, medicine, and transportation. From this new perspective, the act of consuming ceases to be a voluntary choice and becomes a structural, inevitable, and continuous necessity for the very existence of the urban dweller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This unavoidable dependence on the market places the consumer in a position of extreme vulnerability vis-\u00e0-vis those who own the means of production and distribution, since the individual does not have the prerogative to simply abstain from consumption if they disagree with the imposed conditions. This structural fragility was aptly summarized by the industrialist Henry Ford when he stated that the consumer represents the weakest link in the economy, warning that no chain can be stronger than its weakest link. From Ford’s perspective, the sustainability of the entire economic chain depends directly on the consumer’s ability to remain active; if the consumer collapses financially, the entire productive system collapses along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.2 The massification of consumption<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If urbanization and industrial expansion created the need for consumption, its massification and elevation to unprecedented levels were driven by the conjunction of three determining factors: mass production, easier access to credit, and the professionalization of advertising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advertising, which already existed previously, underwent a conceptual and methodological revolution in the post-war period. It ceased to be a merely informative activity about the existence of products and became a highly organized professional discipline, based on studies of consumer behavior and psychological strategies developed by specialists. The central objective of this modern advertising transcended mere information: it began to focus on the active creation of desires and needs, and on the subjective association of the product with happiness, social acceptance, and personal advancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This new advertising mechanism, consolidated from the 1950s onwards, generated direct tension on the foundations of classical contract law, based on the principle of *pacta sunt servanda* (agreements must be kept). The traditional legal system was based on the theoretical assumption that contracting parties were free, rational subjects endowed with material and informational equality, making any agreement legitimate as it stemmed from the autonomy of their wills. However, for the autonomy of the will to be effective and the choice to be genuinely free, access to complete and reliable information about the object of the contract is indispensable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Modern advertising has disrupted this balance by acting in a predominantly persuasive and one-sided manner. By its very nature, the advertising message highlights only the qualities and benefits of the product, omitting its limitations, associated risks, potential defects, or hidden costs. Although it does not necessarily operate through deliberate falsehood, advertising narrates only a convenient portion of reality, using highly refined techniques to influence consumer consent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The association of this persuasive communication with easy access to credit generated severe social and legal repercussions that the law could not ignore. Among the main consequences of this massification dynamic, the following points stand out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n