(DSAGE Los Angeles London New Delhi Singapore Washington DC

Transcription

1 % UNMANAGEABLE Yiannis Gabriel CONSUMER & Tim Lang (DSAGE Los Angeles London New Delhi Singapore Washington DC

2 CONTENTS Preface to the third edition About the authors Acknowledgements ix xii xiii Introduction: The Faces of the Consumer 1 1 The Emergence of Contemporary Consumerism 7 The Fordist Deal and the rise of 20th-century consumerism 10 The emergence of contemporary consumerism 11 Consumerism and the mass media 14 Production and consumption 18 Environmental limits to consumerism 20 The elusive pursuit of happiness 23 Looking ahead 24 2 The Consumer as Chooser 25 The allure and power of choice 26 The rise of the menu society 27 Choice in different academic disciplines 30 The psychology of choice 31 The rise and rise of brands 33 Advertising: a systematic creation of false choices? 35 Choice in cultural studies 37 Choice in economic theory 41 Choice, the State and the New Right 43 Which? Or whether? 45 3 The Consumer as Communicator 47 The idea of needs goes out of fashion 49 The meanings of goods 51 Communication and consumption: some early views 52 More recent views 54 The Diderot effect and product constellations 57 Gifts 58

3 Cortte/nti. Gifts to oneself? 61 Objects and sign-values 62 Brands, advertising and the destruction of meaning 63 Advertising 65 In conclusion 67 4 The Consumer as Explorer 69 Bargain hunting 71 A duty to explore? 72 The quest for difference 74 Goods and their stories: terrains for exploration 78 The careers of objects 80 Boredom 82 The limits of exploration 83 5 The Consumer as Identity-seeker 86 Fixed identities: from people to goods 87 Identity as a psychological and sociological concept 89 Modernity and identity 91 Consumption, choice and identity 92 Objects and extended selves 94 Postmodern identities, Images and self-esteem 97 Identity, the ego-ideal and narcissism 100 Consumerism: addiction or choice? 103 In conclusion The Consumer as Hedonist 108 The world of commodities and the pursuit of pleasure 109 Hedonism old and new 111 Consumerism and the new hedonism 114 Modern hedonism and the aesthetics of everyday life 116 Social hedonism 119 Ethical hedonism 122 Hedonism and sadism 124 In conclusion The Consumer as Victim 129 The experience of being a victim 132 Why are consumers prone to victimhood? 134 Consumer protection 138 VI

4 Cosrit&ntb Selfhelp? 141 Can companies protect consumers? 143 From risk to generalized hypochondria? The Consumer as Rebel 147 Conscious or unconscious resistance? 150 Symbols of rebellion 151 Torn jeans 154 Tactics of consumer rebellion 156 Rebeis with causes: consumer boycotts 159 'Alternative' consumption: pop festivals 160 LETS 162 The ultimate consumer rebel: 'consume less? 164 Beyond rebellion 166 In conclusion The Consumer as Activist 170 Active consumers and campaigners 172 First wave: co-operative consumers 174 Second wave: value-for-money consumers 177 Third wave: Naderism 180 The globalization of consumer activism 183 Fourth wave: alternative, ethical and political activists 185 The future: convergence or continued divergence? The Consumer as Citizen 193 Citizens and consumers 195 The dilution of the Citizen? Or resurrection? 198 The consumer-citizen hybrid 200 Privatization and sub-contracting 202 Consumer advice, Information and education 203 Citizens, consumers and the environment 205 Consumerism as democracy The Consumer as Worker 209 Work and consumption: two spheres or one? 210 Hard working consumers 210 Consuming work 214 The resurrection of the prosumer 215 New technology 218 VI!

5 C&nfc&TVtä' Consumption-work 220 Links to other faces of the consumer 223 A concluding question The Unmanageable Consumer 226 The demise of the Fordist Deal 229 Unmanageability and the consumer 231 Challenges to consumerism 233 References Index