Consumerism

January 28, 2020 2:34 PM

Practices of in/exclusion
- Reflected in WHAT and HOW we understand something
○ What is the language/term used?
○ How is it described (or understood)?
*** creates/supports dominant or normative views
- What are some examples of dominant views?
○ How are they supported/reflected?
▪ Home ownership
▪ Comfort <- $$ -> sustainability
▪ Average income
▪ Working class/ working poor
Middle class bias
- Middle class emphasis/bias in consumption research
○ poor consumers largely ignored
▪ What does this tell us (re: how consumption is viewed)?
○ Why are poor consumers largely unstudied?
○ What do we not/know (re: practices and strategies of poor consumers?)
○ What does this suggest (re: agency and ID in a consumer society?)
"The myth of consumerism"
- Assumption of consumer sovereignty
○ As a consumer we are going out and actively making decisions about what we are
and what we are not going to buy
▪ That we are autonomous
▪ This is not true because a lot of our decisions are dictated by advertisers, the
government (what we have access to and how much we make), academics,
○ Focus on symbolic value
○ Rather than use or functional value
- Unaware of inequality and constrained access to markets
○ Consumption fulfills "wants", rather than "needs"
○ Consumption as self-identity, lifestyle & choice\
***prosperity (and access) is taken for granted
Identifying poor consumers
- Purchasing power is influenced by market restriction
○ Limit access, so as not to be associated with poor
- Poor seen as "flawed consumer" or "non-consumers"
○ Risky; limited product growth and success
○ Struggle to be recognized (dominant lens of) purchase
○ Consumption goes unrecognized
○ Or is framed as morally problematic
▪ Some consumption patterns seen as "right", others "wrong"
▪ E.g. checkout line critique/ challenges to purchases
▪ Video: stop poverty shaming
Consumption in a Broader Framework
- Social anthropological view
○ Locate consumption in framework of political economy
○ Explain increasing inequality/ economic disparity***
○ Use consumption studies to understand society
▪ Beyond consumption patterns/practices
Consumption in a broader framework
- Challenge culturalist research and its focus on..
○ The location of meaning
○ The moment of purchase
- Neglects material, social and cultural constraints

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 - Neglects material, social and cultural constraints
○ How choices are shaped
○ i.e. labour market, family relations, politics
Consumption in broader framework
- Calls for broader focus on political systems:
○ Individual consumer choices as inherently collective
▪ A consequence of political-economic forces
○ Identify areas of specifc relevance
▪ How have social inequality and affluence been represented
□ What informs our assumptions about affluence?
Consumption in low-income households
- Middle-class consumers usually view consumption as 'fun'
- Low-income families view consumption as stressful
○ Involves careful, tedious planning, economizing strategies
- Not 'fun', 'retail therapy' and impulse buys
- Consumption s heavily regulated/managed
○ Amidst pressure of consumer culture of affluence
- Strategies of consumption control:
○ Unequal division of resources
▪ Conspicuous consumption to avoid stigmatization
□ Often fuels judgement and exposure
○ Secondary consumption
▪ Consuming market surplus
Often creates ambiguity (re: dependency on 'cast offs'
Social conditions & market hindrances
- 'the poor pay more'
○ Structural disadvantage
Empirical differences in consumption
- Inclusive research challenges normative positions
○ Asks: what is the role of the consumer?
▪ Re: agency and 'power of the purchase9r0'
○ Demonstrates the precarious nature of the market
- What is our role/part in the narrative?***
○ How much credit do we rely on?
○ Where do we draw the limit?
○ Do we see options?
The importance of inclusive research
- Boundary between credit and debt is complex
○ Creates social and moral hierarchies among us
- Social science framework
○ Allows us to recognize our complicity, agency, and role
○ Identify what views/perspectives might be missing
○ Ask questions to learn more about how society functions
- Middle class emphasis/bias in consumption research
○ Leads to distorted view of5 consumption/practices
- Ignores financial practices and strategies
- Social anthropological view
○ Locate consumption in framework

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