Consumption Flashcards
How has the term “consumption” evolved over time?
Initially associated with negative meanings like using up resources or a wasting disease, the term shifted in the 18th century to a more neutral sense, pairing with terms like “producer” and “consumer” (Williams).
How does the Marxist approach view consumption under capitalism?
It sees consumption as manipulated by strategic advertisements, reducing consumers to passive participants driven by manufactured desires, ensuring profit for producers.
How does Thorstein Veblen’s perspective differ from the Marxist view of consumption?
Veblen argued that consumers actively engage in consumption to express wealth and social status, coining the term “conspicuous consumption” to describe this behavior.
What is “conspicuous consumption,” and what does it emphasize according to Veblen?
A term for spending on extravagant goods to display wealth and social status, focusing on symbolic value rather than intrinsic or necessary value.
How does Herbert Marcuse define “false needs,” and how are they created?
False needs are manufactured desires created through advertisements to trap consumers in cycles of desire and gratification, serving the interests of capitalism.
According to Adorno and Horkheimer, how does consumer capitalism affect culture?
It standardizes cultural products, stripping them of authenticity and reducing them to commodities, prioritizing profit over artistic value.
How does Baudrillard challenge the idea of “false needs”?
He argues that while manufacturers create illusions of needs, consumers can resist and make their own decisions. Consumption, he asserts, is also a system of signs that generates meaning.
What does Judy Giles suggest about the connection between production and desire?
Advertisements encode desires in products, but while consumers may resist them, they cannot escape awareness of the social meanings tied to consumption.
How does Bourdieu’s concept of “habitus” relate to consumption?
Habitus refers to the knowledge, assumptions, and social classifications that shape consumer preferences, tying them to economic and cultural capital and identity.
What role does social class play in Bourdieu’s analysis of consumption?
While consumption is not directly shaped by class, class differences influence assumptions about what is “right” to consume, driven by economic and cultural capital.
How does consumer capitalism provide an illusion of choice, according to Adorno and Horkheimer?
By homogenizing cultural products and limiting options (e.g., Netflix’s algorithm), consumer capitalism creates a false sense of freedom in decision-making.
How does Baudrillard link consumption to language?
He likens consumption to a system of signs, where goods act as symbols that generate meanings, much like words in a language.
What does the transition from feudalism to capitalism signify in the Marxist view of consumption?
It marks a shift from production based on need to production for profit, necessitating constant consumer manipulation to sustain capitalism.
How does conspicuous consumption reflect social and economic status?
It uses goods and services as symbols to signal wealth and distinguish oneself from lower social classes, emphasizing status over utility.
What is the tension between producer selves and consumer selves and how are they related?
Producer selves are individuals motivated by a work ethic and the ability to delay immediate gratification. Consumer selves are those who succumb to their impulses and desires. The capitalist system nurtures both producer and consumer selves because both production and consumption are necessary for its functioning.
How does Baudrillard view consumption as a sign system? How does he address human freedom of choice in consumption?
Baudrillard sees consumption as a sign system, similar to language, where objects, advertisements, and acts of buying create a communication code. He suggests that consumers are not fully controlled by marketing manipulations and that they can imbue objects with their own meanings, demonstrating a form of freedom of choice.
What are Bourdieu’s concepts of “habitus” and “cultural capital”? How does he explain class differences in consumption?
Habitus refers to the body of knowledge, experiences, and habits individuals acquire from their social environments, shaping their consumption preferences. Cultural capital refers to the knowledge, education, and cultural background individuals possess. Bourdieu claims that different social classes have distinct habitus and cultural capital, which create class differences in consumption.
