A sociological perspective of consumption morality

Abstract

This paper considers how a sociological perspective of morality can inform understandings of consumption. In light of recent research that identifies moral forms of consumption practice at a socio-cultural level (e.g. 'ethical consumers' and 'voluntary simplifiers') it is apparent that an important relationship between consumption, society and morality continues to be of relevance and interest to consumer research. However, research into ethical consumption, fair trade, sustainability, green consumption and more recently consumer citizenship presuppose certain assumptions about the moral nature of the subject at the centre of their investigations whilst not evidencing an explicit or coherent understanding of the underlying sociological conception of morality itself. Accordingly, there is a need for consumer researchers framing their studies at a sociological level to be clearer about the conceptual nature of morality and, moreover, how it relates in a meaningful way to the theoretical claims made in their research. In response, this paper examines the dominant paradigmatic conceptualisations that constitute a sociological perspective of morality. Particularly, it considers (1) how a number of key sociological perspectives on morality can locate streams of consumer research better than is currently the case, (2) how these perspectives suggest that current research into fair trade and ethical consumption invoke a certain type of morality whereas a broader concept is available and finally (3) how a pluralist sociological conception of morality will allow consumer researchers to reframe the types of questions they can ask and so too the types of answers they may find.

Welfare sociology in our times. How social, political, and economic uncertainties shape contemporary societies

“…This is not limited to the material means of life, ways of spending free time, type of work and relations with friends and family, but also includes the quality of the natural environment and civic engagement (political and quasi-political activity) [cf. Blackshaw 2016;Caruana 2007]. Consumption is not an unimportant phenomenon here, as it has been playing a major role in developed societies since the beginning of industrial capitalism [Baudrillard 1998[Baudrillard (1970].…”

O prijeporima etičke potrošnje iz društvenog rakursa

“…Nabrojene komponente prisutne su u većini recentne literature ove tematike. Tako većina autora općim nazivnikom etičke potrošnje drži potrošačke odluke bazirane na dobrobiti okoliša, radnika, životinja te niz, s time povezanih, praksa (prema Tallontire i sur., 2001;Belk i sur., 2005;Caruana, 2007;Littler, 2011). Tako shvaćena etička potrošnja adresira zelene proizvode koji nisu štetni ni za okoliš ni ljudsko zdravlje (npr.…”

Corporate citizenship and its impact upon consumer moralisation, decision-making and choice

“…Conceiving morality in this way 'neglects everyday life situations' (Lovett & Jordan, 2010, p. 176) -especially the mundane and ordinary activities surrounding, for example, the purchase of chocolate. Thus, calls for researchers to rely less on rational, decision-maker models and focus on moral forms of consumption from a descriptive approach have been mounting (Caruana, 2007a(Caruana, , 2007bCrane & Desmond, 2002;Lovett & Jordan, 2010;McEachern & Cheetham, 2013).…”

“…In contrast to a normative approach which generally refers to morality in terms of the rightness or wrongness of an individual's behaviour as guided by a code of conduct and/or a set of rules (Caruana, 2007b), Lovett and Jordan's (2010) descriptive approach to moral sensitivity provides a useful framework to assess the strength of individuals' conceptions of the moral meanings of their everyday experiences, by examining the extent to which individuals cast their moral nets (i.e. whether they limit their moralising discourses to the self or whether they extend them to include others), as well as their willingness to express their privately held moral views in public.…”