 In Defense of Consumer Critique: Revisiting the Consumption Debates of the Twentieth CenturyJuliet B. Schor
The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 2007, vol. 611, issue 1, 16-30 Abstract: In the past twenty-five years, the literature on consumption has gained analytic power by positioning itself against the consumer critics of the twentieth century (Veblen, Adorno and Horkheimer, Galbraith, Baudrillard), arguing that these accounts were totalizing, theorized consumers as too passive, and simplified motives. The literature moved to micro-level, interpretive studies that are often depoliticized and lack a critical approach to the subject matter. The author argues that developments such as the emergence of a global production system, ecological degradation, and new findings on well-being warrant a reengagement with the critical tradition and macro-level critiques. This article considers three traditions—Veblenian accounts of status seeking, the Frankfurt School, and Galbraith and the economic approach to consumer demand— arguing that the flaws of these models are not necessarily fatal and that the debate about producer versus consumer sovereignty should be revisited in light of the changing political power of transnational corporations. Keywords: consumption; consumer critic; Veblen; Galbraith; Frankfurt School; producer and consumer sovereignty; status seeking (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:anname:v:611:y:2007:i:1:p:16-30 Access Statistics for this article More articles in The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science |
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