Description
Book SynopsisWith the advent of liquid modernity, the society of producers is transformed into a society of consumers. In this new consumer society, individuals become simultaneously the promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote. They are, at one and the same time, the merchandise and the marketer, the goods and the travelling salespeople.
Trade Review"[An] engaged and important antidote to the platitudes of the times ... encourages the very human virtues [Bauman seeks] to recover from a world otherwise only concerned with the easy, the simple and the fast."
Times Higher Education "A masterful account and critique of consumerism and the social consequences of its ubiquity ... another worthy contribution to the urgent task of social critique amid unprecedented and unfettered consumerism."
Sociology
"A timely intervention in helping sociologists think about what the sociology of consumption has achieved."
Sociological Review
"Consuming Life provides a fiery, stimulating and sharp diagnosis, with much to tell us about where and who we are in a market-led society."
Commentary
"Bauman's message calls for awakening from the slumber we are in."
Essays in Philosophy
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Or, the most closely guarded secret of the society of consumers 1
1 Consumerism versus Consumption 25
2 Society of Consumers 52
3 Consumerist Culture 82
4 Collateral Casualties of Consumerism 117
Notes 151
Index 158
