Consumer can be king
By M. R. Pai

THERE is a confusion between consumerism and materialism. Some critics condemn the consumer movement as artificial stimulation of public demand and desire for more and more and unnecessary material goods and services. Consumerism has nothing to do with craze for materialistic acquisition.

In simple terms, consumerism stands for three things.

(a) A choice of vendors, wherever possible, because competition is to the advantage of consumers.

(b) Value for money.Gone are the days when people would meekly accept shoddy goods or inefficient service. When they pay good money for some product or service, they expect good value for it, which they have a right to do.

(c) Accountabilityis another requisite. The vendor or someone who sells the product or service should be held accountable if there is a defect in the product or deficiency in service rendered.

Whether a person travels by a city bus or by air, as a consumer he has every right to these three requisites. Likewise, whether he buys a pencil or a costly automobile, as a consumer he is entitled to these three requisites.

It is interesting to note how the consumer movement became a mass movement in recent decades. Although there were isolated consumer groups fighting for their rights, the idea of consumer rights being an integral part of every citizen’s daily life became popular from the heroic fight of Ralph Nader in U.S.A against the automobile industry, specifically against the auto giant General Motors. This corporation symbolised the might of corporate U.S.A. Ralph Nader published in 1965 a book, Unsafe at any Speed, accusing the auto industry of sacrificing safety to profits, and documenting the features of a General Motors car which resulted in a safety hazard. The offended company fought back. It stooped to the level of hiring private detectives to swoop on Ralph Nader’s private life to see whether any dirt could be thrown on him to destroy his credibility.

Ralph Nader led a simple and clean life, and was a man totally dedicated to his mission of fighting for consumer rights. Nothing adverse could be found against him. However, it became known that General Motors had spied on Ralph Nader. The General Motors President had to apologise to Nader before the nation and the Congress. As a result of this, Ralph Nader became a national hero and the consumer cause he championed became a mass movement. Ralph Nader’s definition of himself aptly sums up his philosophy of consumer movement: "Full-time citizen, the most important office in America". Indeed all consumers all over the world hold the most important office in their country.

In India, a group of housewives in Bombay had set up the Consumer Guidance Society in 1966. The consumer movement came into public prominence in 1985, when Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi at a function at Maruti Udyog called on Indian consumers to demand quality. "Then only will industry pay attention and improve the standard of goods. It is because the consumer does not demand and takes whatever is given to him that we lack good quality", he observed.

Subsequently in 1986, India passed the Consumer Protection Act — to help the consumer. The genesis of the legislation is a Resolution of the UN General Assembly passed on April 9, 1985, which laid down guidelines to provide a framework to governments to strengthen consumer protection policies and laws. The earlier practice of going to a regular court of law was time-consuming, costly and beyond the means of many ordinary consumers. The Consumer Protection Act provided an easier remedy.