Consumption

<strong>Consumption</strong> provides a critical overview of major sociological approaches tothis subject discussing it in the context of both modern and postmo... » 

Consumption provides a critical overview of major sociological approaches tothis subject discussing it in the context of both modern and postmodernsocieties. Robert Bocock offers a distinctive analysis of the ideology ofconsumerism and the role of consumption as a sociocultural process.Bocock first examines the role of consumption in early modern Western societyand then analyzes its emergence in the early 20th century up through the 1990s.His historical analysis provides the starting point for an analysis ofconsumption between the 1950s and the present day. Also examined are thecontributions of leading writers in the field including Veblen Simmel MarxGramsci Weber Bourdieu Lacan and Baudrillard.Consumption builds upon Bococks earlier study of symbols and rituals inindustrial societies Freud and the concept of hegemony. Rejecting thetheoretical antihumanism of structuralist paradigms in the social sciencesBocock attempts to formulate a more concrete and practical approach tosociology. Bocock addresses such issues as the emergence of modern consumptiontheorizing about consumption its relation to the symbolic and theconstruction of gender and desire. «