Why? Ideologies and Institutions

Kathleen Gish
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Kathleen Gish: Sinclair Community College

Chapter Chapter 7 in Let Them Eat Fair-Trade Chocolate Cake, 2025, pp 97-117 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This chapter delves into the “why.” This portion of the study examines the ideological schemas that undergird the efforts made at ethical consumption by the respondents. The main areas of concern expressed among the subjects were human rights, environmentalism, and animal welfare. The concept of “social justice” came up repeatedly, though there was not a general consensus on what that implied or how that was to be achieved. There is also a look at how ethical consumption is used as a political tool. Though several interviewees conceded that they did not know how significant a difference they were making through their buying power, all of them did express the desire to impact institutions within the economy—corporations and other producers, along with small businesses and cooperatives—as well as the government, including legislators, regulatory agencies, and local government bodies. Some saw this as a complementary process to participating in the democratic system, while others saw it as a more effective alternative to a system that did not make them feel heard. The findings suggest that ethical consumption can act both as an activity and an identity for study participants. In rejecting the premises of capitalism, they make room to examine their values and behaviors from a new vantage point, and they create spaces to enact values not cultivated within neoliberal capitalism, like communality, mindfulness, and satisfaction.

Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-3-032-04414-3_7

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-04414-3_7

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