Consumer Society
CONSUMER SOCIETY The term consumer society is commonly used to distinguish contemporary affluent societies from traditional agricultural or modern industrial societies, to emphasize the role of consumption as a factor in social structure and as an element of lifestyle.
History and Meaning of the Term
The concept of the consumer society has been commonly used since the early decades of the twentieth century, originally in the United States, where the wealth of mass-produced consumer goods first became apparent. It designates the importance of consumption in everyday life, but it has also had ideological connotations, meaning that capitalist economies are overwhelmingly efficient in providing commodities at affordable prices to ordinary consumers. In social science discourses, it has suffered from ill fame. As a theoretical vision of advanced capitalism, it has an air of ideological complacency. This usage of the term was most apparent in the cold war period. Critics have argued that contrasted to “class society,” the notion of consumer society depicts consumers as a uniform albeit indeterminate group of people with similar interests instead of conflicting classes. It hints at general affluence and suggests that consumption, primarily of commodities, is the most important content of life and support of identity, but does not account for inequalities and other determinants of social structure, notably production and the labor market. On the other hand, the reality of consumer society has been the object of moral, economic, political, and general ideological criticism for giving priority to material values at the expense of spiritual, cultural, and social interests.
Historical Context
The twentieth century produced in advanced Western countries a phenomenal growth in consumption possibilities that has no parallel in human history, not relatively speaking and certainly not in absolute terms. Often this phase is called the new consumer society
History and Meaning of the Term
The concept of the consumer society has been commonly used since the early decades of the twentieth century, originally in the United States, where the wealth of mass-produced consumer goods first became apparent. It designates the importance of consumption in everyday life, but it has also had ideological connotations, meaning that capitalist economies are overwhelmingly efficient in providing commodities at affordable prices to ordinary consumers. In social science discourses, it has suffered from ill fame. As a theoretical vision of advanced capitalism, it has an air of ideological complacency. This usage of the term was most apparent in the cold war period. Critics have argued that contrasted to “class society,” the notion of consumer society depicts consumers as a uniform albeit indeterminate group of people with similar interests instead of conflicting classes. It hints at general affluence and suggests that consumption, primarily of commodities, is the most important content of life and support of identity, but does not account for inequalities and other determinants of social structure, notably production and the labor market. On the other hand, the reality of consumer society has been the object of moral, economic, political, and general ideological criticism for giving priority to material values at the expense of spiritual, cultural, and social interests.
Historical Context
The twentieth century produced in advanced Western countries a phenomenal growth in consumption possibilities that has no parallel in human history, not relatively speaking and certainly not in absolute terms. Often this phase is called the new consumer society