This is an explanation for passage 3 of LSAT preptest 73, the September 2014 LSAT. This passage is about advertising and consumer needs. The passage argues that Marcuse’s critique of advertising is wrong and that we as consumers are able to react independently to ads.
This section has paragraph summaries and an analysis of the passage, links to the explanations for the questions are below.
Paragraph Summaries
- Marcuse said advertising makes us believe we are satisfied, when we never can be. Advertising creates false needs that enrich corporations.
- False needs are created on top of real needs. E.g. We need sex, and we are sold perfume.
- If Marcuse is right, we cannot actually know what our real needs are, because he says we respond to the persuasion of advertising without thinking.
- Marcuse is wrong to think we respond to advertising without thinking. Ads can’t make us do things we don’t want to do. Consumers may consciously be buying products to fulfill their emotional needs.
Analysis
This is a very complex passage. Paragraphs 1 and 2 present Marcuse’s argument. Advertising creates false needs. Marcuse says we are no longer able to tell what we truly want. Advertising makes us think we are satisfied, but we live in a world where satisfaction is impossible (lines 6-9).
The third paragraph is where the author starts to disagree with Marcuse. That paragraph is misleading, because the author doesn’t actually agree with her own argument in paragraph 3.
In paragraph 3, the author is talking about what would happen IF Marcuse is right. If Marcuse is right about false needs, then we have no idea what our real needs are. The forces of persuasion are everywhere, and it’s impossible to tell whether a desire is genuine or whether that desire is just something we got unconsciously from an ad.
This is an internal flaw to Marcuse’s argument. The author is saying that if Marcuse is right, then it would be very hard to figure out what’s real, because our perceptions would be unconsciously warped.
The Author Thinks Marcuse Is Wrong
But the author doesn’t think Marcuse is right. The author thinks that adults are usually able to understand the persuasive techniques advertisers use, and respond sensibly (lines 40-44). We don’t just passively submit to the suggestions of ads. Lines 35-37 say we respond to ads autonomously. That means we’re able to think about them and act of our own free will.
Lines 46-56 show that consumers may get enjoyment from buying things, even if it’s not the enjoyment promised.
For instance, suppose a perfume promises you sex, glamour and luxury. You decide to buy the perfume, but not for that reason. You instead expect the perfume will smell nice, and make people treat you a little bit better.
The ad may have helped you decide to buy the perfume, but you weren’t fooled into trying to use it to satisfy a “false need”. Instead you are using the perfume to satisfy your real needs for a pleasant olfactory environment and to be treated well by others.
This is an example of what “another sort of fulfillment” (lines 54-55) refers to.
Products May Fulfill Real Needs
The rest of the line is also worth thinking about. The author says that it’s not true that a product’s “genuine fulfillment of needs must be less than the advertisement suggests”. For example, a garbage bag might promise that it is easy to tie and never breaks. There’s no reason a garbage bag couldn’t live up to the promises of the ad.
Reading comprehension passages refer to real situations. You’re allowed to use your own experience to help you figure out what the author means. All the words in passages have real meaning.
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