The Authority of the Consumer

by Abercrombie,Nicholas

• ISBN13: 9780415089180
• ISBN10: 0415089182
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-01-25
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The Authority of the Consumerexplores the growing tendency in contemporary British society to portray consumers as occupying the receiving end of a wide range of cultural and educational institutions. The aim of this collection is to explore the implications of this recent extension of the status of the consumer, charting out its meanings and debating the merits or drawbacks of this way of understanding the relationship between "providers" and "recipients." This book focuses on the radical shift of authority away from the producer and toward the consumer. The responses to this power shift have, however, differed. Some welcome it as a sign of democratization, anti-elitism and empowerment, while others decry it as mere commercialization, populism or a loss of integrity. There are still others who view this definition as yet another consumer discourse which only serves to enhance the power of producers. The contributors, working from several disciplines in the socialsciences and humanities, explore such issues as the theories of Zygmunt Bauman, stereotypes in advertising and consumption as a postmodern "religion."

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Social Change and Consumption	p. 21
Scepticism, Authority and the Market	p. 23
Authority and Consumer Society	p. 43
Consumers, Identity and Belonging	p. 58
The Organized Consumer and Consumer Information Co-Operatives	p. 75
References	p. 89
Advertising	p. 91
References	p. 101
The Limits of Consumption and the Post-Modern 'Religion' of the New Age	p. 102
Consuming Culture	p. 117
High Art and the High Street	p. 119
Planning a Culture for the People?	p. 138
The Culture of Consumption	p. 154
Framing the Audience for Theatre	p. 166
References	p. 185
Consuming Public Services	p. 187
Citizens, Charters and Contracts	p. 189
Consuming Health and Welfare	p. 207
Consuming Education	p. 223
Retailing the Police	p. 240
References	p. 251
Conversationalization of Public Discourse and the Authority of the Consumer	p. 253
Name Index	p. 269
Subject Index	p. 274
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