Being Human in a Consumer Society

This book offers a new perspective on sociological studies of the consumer society, introducing neglected normative questions relating to the good life and human flourishing - subjects more commonly discussed in fields of moral, political, and social philosophy. With attention to a wide range of subjects, including post-emotional law and responsibility, dehumanized consumption and ‘prosumerism,’ fashion, embodiment, conspicuous consumption, and sustainability, this book analyzes the structural and cultural transformations that can be identified in consumer society. It also offers a critical - but not pessimistic - view of the important question of whether consumption is leading to an increasing isolation, individualization or commodification of human beings, suggesting an analytical framework for understanding consumer culture and human praxis.

The first section, Blurring Human Beings: Structural Constrictions in Consumer Society, includes chapters by:

• Stjepan G. Mestrovic - Postemotional law in consumer society
• George Ritzer - The dehumanized consumer: does the prosumer offer some hope?
• Colin Campbell - Status matters? The contradictions surrounding conspicuous consumption

The second section, Consumer Culture as Mediation in Human Relationships, includes the following chapters:

• Pablo García-Ruiz - The two faces of consumerism: when things make us (in)human
• Allison J. Pugh - Accepting and resisting insecurity: using consumer culture to have it both ways?
• Karin M. Ekström - Conformity and distinction in Scandinavia’s largest department store

The final section, Framing the Human Being in a Consumer Society, includes:

• Talbot Brewer - Reflections on the cultural commons
• Efrat Tseëlon - Fashion skirts the ethical agenda
• Roberta Sassatelli - Framing humanity consumerwise: embodied consumer selves and their varieties

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