Chapter 7 Flashcards
MEANS OF PRODUCTION / CONSUMPTION
Since Karl Marx’s time, PRODUCTION has received LOTS of ATTENTION by sociologists; but, consumption has not.
Marx focused on what he termed the MEANS OF PRODUCTION—the land, labour, and capital necessary to PRODUCE WEALTH for the BOURGEOISIE.
He mentioned the MEANS OF CONSUMPTION, the social means by which people consume what is produced, but consumption was not given much attention.
Describe GEORGE RITZER’s perspective
GEORGE RITZER calls for GREATER BALANCE in how these issues are treated by sociologists today, especially as the WEST SHIFTS TOWARDS CONSUMPTION- based societies; being defined by what we buy and do with our spare time instead of being defined by what we do for work (PRODUCTION).
He argues consumption is overlooked because it is “trivial” to warrant a sociological issue, while in reality it is becoming one.
THORSTEIN VELBEN
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION
PECUNIARY EMULATION
Human nature of consumptions.
ie. Apple watch gold BS
THORSTEIN VELBEN, in “The Theory of the Leisure Class”, critiques what he called
CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION, the PURCHASE and use of things as status symbols or to DEMONSTRATE WEALTH and STATUS.
PECUNIARY EMULATION is copying the spending habits of others to set trends for LEISURE CLASS.
Veblen believes conspicuous consumption was also by the poor as a way of imitating the rich, and that not everyone engages in consumption to show off. SOME people JUST WANT TO FIT IN with those around them. He also believes that these behaviours reduce efficiency in society because goods are not being used for rational values and superficial values are taking over.
Describe PIERRE BOURDIEU
CULTURAL CAPITAL
Pierre Bourdieu wrote: “A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste” to argue that PEOPLE DISPLAY STATUS by HOW they PRESENT their TASTES, or “aesthetic disposition.”
People OFTEN attempt to INCREASE their CULTURAL CAPITAL and that of their CHILDREN to APPEAR as though they are from a HIGHER CLASS than that into which they were born.
Describe JEAN BAUDRILLARD
4 ways of value
- USE
- EXCHANGE
- SYMBOLIC
- SIGN
JEAN BAUDRILLARD suggests that OBJECTS of consumption CAN HAVE VALUES in 4 ways.
- USE value, based on what it is USED FOR.
- EXCHANGE value, based on what you CAN GET if you SELL or TRADE it.
- SYMBOLIC value, depending on its SENTIMENTAL significance.
- SIGN value, what the object DISPLAYS about the TASTES and SOCIAL STATUS of OWNER.
Describe JEAN BAUDRILLARD’s
SIMULARCA
Central to Baudrillard’s work is the concept of SIMULARCA, those SUPERFICIAL REPRESENTATIONS of real LIFE that are HYPERREAL—or more real than real life.
As the text author concludes, “ADVERTISING PROMOTES CONSUMPTION by CREATING HYPERREAL WORLDS that CONSUMERS REALLY WANT to BE a PART OF.”
Describe the AFFLUENCE HYPOTHESIS
RONALD INGLEHART (observed change inn values and priorities of people living in Europe and NA from material to non-material goals)
AFFLUENCE HYPOTHESIS asserts that WESTERN CONSUMPTION HABITS in WEALTHIER NATIONS have MORE SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE THAN those from less wealthy nations.
Because not everyone in an affluent society is wealthy, but WEALTH and CONSUMPTION are on display everywhere, MANY PEOPLE WHO LACK more DISPOSABLE INCOME are TEMPTED to LIVE OUTSIDE their means.
Since the end of 1996, Canadians’ debt-to-income ratio has been steadily increasing.
Describe EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS
Ferdinand Zweig
EMBOURGEOISEMENT THESIS focuses on the RELATIONSHIP between SOCIAL CLASS and CONSUMPTION through “embourgeoisement”;
particularly the LOSS of CLASS CONSCIOUSNESS and DEVELOPMENT of a FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS that occurs when the WORKING CLASS ADOPTS the consumption PATTERNS and TASTES of the bourgeois MIDDLE CLASS. They stop hating capitalism and lose appetite for change!
Describe CONSUMPTION AS COMMUNICATION
Through symbolic interactionist perspective, the CONSUMPTION AS COMMUNICATION thesis asserts that CONSUMPTION PATTERNS have socially SIGNIFICANT MEANINGS.
People often make statements with their choices of what to buy, when, where, and with whom. However, NOT ALL CONSUMPTION ACTS are socially meaningful.
People are not always trying to convey a message with their purchases. They may simply be cold or hungry and purchase what is most convenient or fits.
BUT we must ALSO AVOID CONSUMPTION REDUCTIONISM: only studying the consumption patterns of people without considering other social factors ie. class, because it leads to CLASS Reductionism.
SOCIAL FACTORS and CONSUMPTION
There are several social factors that affect consumption such as gender, age, and nationality. While there is a great deal of speculation about who shops the most and the longest, women or men, there is LITTLE SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH on this topic.
What seems clear from research is that OUR CONSUMPTION PATTERNS CHANGE WITH AGE. As age increases, spending on shelter increases, while spending on food, alcohol, tobacco and clothing declines.
In terms of nationality, Americans lead the way in total consumption, with Canadians not far behind.
Examine CHANGES of BECOMING a culture of MASS consumption.
Rise in leisure
MAX WEBER proposed the PROTESTANT WORK ETHIC—the idea that people should work hard and save their money to please God. With the secularization of society this view was replaced generally with the ETHIC OF CONSUMPTION, which CELEBRATES SPENDING because you can’t take money with you to heaven.
Along with this shift came the shift FROM ELITE CONSUMPTION, where only the wealthy could afford certain types of leisure and consumption, TOWARDS MASS CONSUMPTION, where these luxuries ALSO became available to the WORKING class.
Describe the connections between TIME and CONSUMPTION
Time is intimately connected to consumption in that HAVING TIME FOR LEISURE, along WITH MONEY, IS BEING WEALTHY (“the idle rich”). MARSHALL SAHLINS coined
ORIGINAL AFFLUENT SOCIETY (AKA)
HUNTER-GATHERER societies may be the MOST TIME RICH of all types of societies,
whereas AGRICULTURALISTS, because of the labour involved, became TIME POOR in the INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION.
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES of the 1960s and 1970s WERE THOUGHT to CREATE TIME SAVING DEVICES TO TURN EVERYONE INTO LEISURE CLASS; however, Canadians work longer hours today and also have devices that ensure that we are always “working” or available for business (e.g., Smartphones). TODAY WE ARE TIME POOR.
Describe BRANDING
From a CRITICAL sociological view, BRANDING is the use of MARKETING STRATEGIES to establish brands or brand-name PRODUCTS as the ESSENTIAL ITEMS through which certain groups of PEOPLE IDENTIFY themselves.
In today’s individualistic culture, companies AGGRESSIVELY (and ironically) MASS PRODUCE and MARKET individuality, which many consume, UNAWARE that CONSUMPTION of mass marketed/produced products is NOT THE MARK of an INDIVIDUAL.
Describe HUMAN IMPACT of BRANDING
Along with individuality, companies also seek to capitalize on consumers’ desires to belong. NAOMI KLIEN calls certain companies BRAND BULLIES if they aggressively try to influence the livelihoods of people by getting them to purchase their products for superficial reasons (on both ends). This can be seen easily in sports merchandising, where people are often anxious to establish themselves as legitimate fans by buying team-related products such as shirts and caps, season tickets, and so on.
As humans, we all have needs and wants.
Needs are “natural” whereas wants are manufactures. Advertising strives to turn wants into manufactured needs. Branding ensures that certain non-essential wants become aligned in our minds as needs, essential for identity formation, and what gets defined as a need versus a want changes over time.
Describe TECHNOLOGICAL FETISHISM
and PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE
TECHNOLOGICAL FETISHISM is a term that refers to people’s uncritical acceptance of NEWER items AS BETTER items. Companies produce a newer version of a Smartphone or television or tablet each year and persuade consumers that their status will increase by buying the latest version.
Many companies engage in PLANNED OBSOLESCENCE, ensuring their products will break or will be unable to perform the same functions as the latest version.
