In the Middle East, the changes that nurtured capitalism fostered the growth of consumer culture in three related ways. Although capitalist development during the precolonial (pre-1900) and colonial eras (1900–19) was generally uneven and geared toward the production of a cash crop, the future Arab states developed ports, roads, and railroads, which connected centers of production with centers of consumption. Second, this economic infrastructure helped to increase the quantity of goods that were…