WK 12 L1 Consuming Flashcards
4 approaches to the question of consuming
Classic rule, division of labour, power and rationalisation and distinction and emulation
two POV’S in contemporary consumption
levelling and liquid
Autarky
an individual who supplies their own needs without external assistance
Commodity fetishism
suggests social relations of labour are obscured by consumer goods that carry other kinds of symbolic values for users
Reification
powers of goods and services to turn themselves into aliens, external forces that compel us to assign labour power in pursuit of them
Surplus value
difference between the price capitalist charge for product and what labourer gets paid for making it
Class rule- the Frankfurt school
consumers are well aware they are exploited, through advertising and marketing they are persuaded their is no alternative to the system
Durkheim’s perspective on division of labour
social solidarity
3 types of authority according to weber
Charismatic, traditional and legal-rational
Charismatic
based on people’s belief that the leader possesses a gift of grace, will place everything they have at the disposal of their leader
Traditional
obedience to the rule of a hereditary monarch or religious leader- consumption and social behaviour based on conformity
Legal rational
governs on the basis of rational, bureaucratically administered directives- authority derived from tabulated rules, consumption without passion or fulfilment
Mcdonaldization thesis- ritzer
modern consumer processes converge towards the relations of consumption perfected by managers in the mcdees food chain
4 principles of MCDEEs thesis
Efficiency, calculability, predictability and control
Efficiency
the commitment of management to the optimal distribution of labour, time, capital associated resources in production, distribution and consumption
Calculability
monitoring processes of production, distribution and consumption by quantifiable, rather than qualitative methods
Predictability
constructing standardised spaces of consumption based on the regimentation of processes and the routinisation of exchange
Control
maintaining the power ratio between managers, workers and consumers in favour of management
Conspicuous consumption- veblen
spending for no real reason other than to flaunt wealth
Surveillance capitalism
collection of mass digital data to monitor consumption patterns in order to target specific marketing and produce profit
Prosumption- ritzier, 2014
the relocation of some production and distribution functions to the consumer
Liquid perspectives- bauman
that consumers are volatile and insatiable- consumer culture has moved to a liquid phase- materialism
