The developed countries, particularly the United States, consume a disproportionate share of the world's resources, yet high and rising levels of consumption do not neccessarily lead to greater satisfaction, security or well-being, even for affluent consumers. This text provides brief summaries of the most important and influential writings on the environmental, moral and social implications of a consumer society and consumer lifestyles. Each section consists of ten to twelve summaries of critical writings in a specific area, with an introductory essay that outlines the state of knowledge in that area and indicates where further research is needed. Sections cover: scope and definition; consumption in the affluent society; family, gender and socialization; the history of consumerism; foundations of economic theory; perpetuating consumer culture - media, advertising and wants creation; consumption and the environment; globalization and consumer culture; and visions of an alternative. This book is the second volume in the "Frontier Issues in Economic Thought" series, which provides surveys of the most significant writings in emergent areas of economics. The series brings together economists, sociologists, psychologists and philosphers to develop analyses that challenge and enrich the dominant neoclassical paradigm.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Summaries of Sociology and Economic Papers,
This review is from: The Consumer Society (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) (Paperback)
This book is basically a massive collection of indepth summaries (usually about 2-4 pages long) of the points made by major papers in the fields of sociology and economics (mainly somewhat "liberal" works). Frequently essays and papers include a lot of information that is simply filler or is unnecessary explaination of already established concepts. This book eliminates that but leaves all the main points and main support of those points intact. This book summarizes just short of 100 essays and divides them into 10 parts: Scope and Definition; Consumption in the Affluent Society; Family, Gender, and Socialization; the History of Consumer Society; Foundations of Economic Theories of Consumption; Critques and Alernatives in Economic Theory; Perpetuating Consumer Culture: Media, Advertising and Wants Creation; Consumption and the Environment; Globalization and Consumer Culture; and Visions of an Alternative.Some of the summaries are of essays from writers such as: Juliet Schor, Alan Durning, John Kenneth Galbraith (Forward also written by him), Colin Campbell, Frank Ackerman, and (of course) many others. There are name and subject indexes in the back and a table of contents in the front, so it is very easy to find a particular essay's summary or just find summaries of essays on the subjects/by the authors you are interested in. In addition, each summary begins with a formal citation of the essay being summarized. This is a great way of finding good articles on various subjects! I highly recommend this book as a tool for finding good essays, as a reference book on various economics and sociology subjects, or as an introductory book to major sociology and economic theories.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A comprehensive, easy-to-read survey of the literature.,
By John Buell (jbuell@acadia.net) (Southwest Harbor, Maine) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Consumer Society (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) (Paperback)
THE CONSUMER SOCIETY is an exceptionally timely and incisive work. Much of the current national dialogue on environmental politics is disabled by the notion that our citizens harbor two incompatible drives: more material goods and a healthy environment. Underlying that common wisdom is the neoclassical conception of human motivation that has become so widely rooted in the media. This book provides an mportant sociological and historical critique of the highly abstract neoclassical view.The presentation of the material, with clear and comprehensive essays for each section, and brief summaries for each of the outside authors, make this book exceptionally accessible. It should be widely used by political and environmental scholars and in college classrooms as well.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A comprehensive, easy-to-read survey of the literature.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Consumer Society (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) (Paperback)
THE CONSUMER SOCIETY is an exceptionally timely and incisive work. Much of the current national dialogue on environmental politics is disabled by the notion that our citizens harbor two incompatible drives: more material goods and a healthy environment. Underlying that common wisdom is the neoclassical conception of human motivation that has become so widely rooted in the media. This book provides an important sociological and historical critique of the highly abstract neoclassical view.The presentation of the material, with clear and comprehensive essays for each section, and brief summaries for each of the outside authors, make this book exceptionally accessible. It should be widely used by political and environmental scholars and in college classrooms as well.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The scope of this volume must depend, in part, on how we define the subject with which we are grappling. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
defensive consumption, positional consumption, nonpositional goods, debt behavior, effect demand curve, positional competition, pictorial prints, transnational advertising, modern consumer economy, international demonstration effect, humanistic economics, early department stores, high consumption levels, qualitative growth, graceful simplicity, summary examines, therapeutic ethos, consumption labor, article summarized, consumer skills Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Third World, United States, New York, World War, Orange County, Thorstein Veblen, Adam Smith, John Kenneth Galbraith, Juliet Schor, William Leiss, Alfred Marshall, American Economic Review, Fred Hirsch, Gary Becker, Jackson Lears, Alan Durning, Colin Campbell, David Kiron, First World, James Duesenberry, Tibor Scitovsky, Daniel Miller, Karl Marx, Kelvin Lancaster, Raymond Benton New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
The scope of this volume must depend, in part, on how we define the subject with which we are grappling. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
defensive consumption, positional consumption, nonpositional goods, debt behavior, effect demand curve, positional competition, pictorial prints, transnational advertising, modern consumer economy, international demonstration effect, humanistic economics, early department stores, high consumption levels, qualitative growth, graceful simplicity, summary examines, therapeutic ethos, consumption labor, article summarized, consumer skills Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Third World, United States, New York, World War, Orange County, Thorstein Veblen, Adam Smith, John Kenneth Galbraith, Juliet Schor, William Leiss, Alfred Marshall, American Economic Review, Fred Hirsch, Gary Becker, Jackson Lears, Alan Durning, Colin Campbell, David Kiron, First World, James Duesenberry, Tibor Scitovsky, Daniel Miller, Karl Marx, Kelvin Lancaster, Raymond Benton New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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64
books
cite this book:
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- The Theory of the Leisure Class (Dover Thrift Editions) by Thorstein Veblen on 7 pages
- The Theory of the Leisure Class by Thorsten Veblen on 7 pages
- The Theory of the Leisure Class (Dodo Press) by Thorstein Veblen on 7 pages
- The Wealth of Nations (Bantam Classics) by Adam Smith on 6 pages
- A Survey of Ecological Economics (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) by Rajaram Krishnan on 4 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
- Sustainable Energy Consumption and Society: Personal, Technological, or Social Change? (Alliance for Global Sustainability Bookseries) by David L. Goldblatt on 7 pages
- Human Well-Being and Economic Goals (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) by Frank Ackerman on 6 pages
- Why Do We Recycle?: Markets, Values, and Public Policy by Frank Ackerman on 4 pages
- The Changing Nature of Work (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) by Frank Ackerman in Front Matter, page 13, and page 14
- A Survey of Sustainable Development: Social And Economic Dimensions (Frontier Issues in Economic Thought) by Jonathan Harris in Front Matter, page 87, and Back Matter
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