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BL
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| Record Number
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946675
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b701045
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| Main Entry
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Littler, Jo,1972-
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| Title & Author
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Radical consumption : : shopping for change in contemporary culture /\ Jo Littler.
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| Publication Statement
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Berkshire ;New York :: Open University Press,, 2009.
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| Series Statement
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McGraw-Hill education
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| Page. NO
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1 online resource (viii, 146 pages).
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| ISBN
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0335236839
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: 9780335236831
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0335221521
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033522153X
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1281953148
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9780335221523
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9780335221530
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9781281953148
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| Bibliographies/Indexes
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 117-140) and index.
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| Contents
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Front cover; Half title page; Title page; Copyright page; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1 Sanctimonious shopping?: Ethical consumption as a 'crisis of moralism'; 2 Cosmopolitan caring: globalization, charity and the activist-consumer; 3 Greenwash, whitewash, hogwash?: CSR and the media management of consumer concern; 4 Interior economies: anti-consumer activism and the limits of reflexivity; 5 Ecologies of green consumption; Notes; References; Index; Back cover
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| Abstract
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The increasingly conspicuous problems of contemporary consumerism (particularly social exploitation and environmental destruction) combined with the ever-expanding niche markets of neoliberal consumer capitalism have led, in recent years, to a skein of 'alternative' consumer practices. Ethical consumption, fair trade, consumer protests, brand backlashes, green goods, boycotts and downshifting: these are all now familiar consumer activities - and in some cases, are almost mainstream. This book suggests we can understand this phenomenon as an expanding field of 'radical consumption': for this is a world in which we are increasingly encouraged to shop for change. By examining their practices, precedents and politics, this book asks: just how radical are these forms of 'radical consumption'? It argues that we need a more expansive vocabulary and to open up approaches of enquiry in order to understand the area's many contradictions, strengths and weaknesses."Radical Consumption" therefore draws on a number of contemporary theories, terms and debates in media and cultural studies, including cosmopolitanism, reflexivity, cultural economies and ethics. By doing so, it raises a number of questions, including: Is ethical consumption merely a sop for the middle classes? Can such forms of consumption ever move beyond their niche market status to become an effective political force? Should we understand corporate social responsibility as a form of consumer-oriented greenwash? And can we really buy our way to a better, more equitable or sustainable future? "Radical Consumption" takes a multifaceted, interdisciplinary approach to examining contemporary radical consumption, analysing its possibilities and problems, mobile moralities, methods of mediation and its connections to wider cultural formations of production and politics.
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| Subject
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Consumer protection.
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Consumption (Economics)-- Moral and ethical aspects.
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Consumption (Economics)-- Social aspects.
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Culture-- Economic aspects.
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Environmentalism-- Economic aspects.
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Green products.
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Sustainable development-- Economic aspects.
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Consumer protection.
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Consumption (Economics)-- Moral and ethical aspects.
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Consumption (Economics)-- Social aspects.
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Culture-- Economic aspects.
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Environmentalism-- Economic aspects.
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Green products.
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POLITICAL SCIENCE-- Public Policy-- Cultural Policy.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE-- Anthropology-- Cultural.
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SOCIAL SCIENCE-- Popular Culture.
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Sustainable development-- Economic aspects.
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| Dewey Classification
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306.3
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| LC Classification
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HC79.C6L58 2009eb
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| Parallel Title
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Shopping for change in contemporary culture
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