Consuming Because Others Consume

Lichtenberg, Judith

doi:10.5840/soctheorpract199622310

Cited by 28 publications

(20 citation statements)

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“…There are at this time bases to predict each of the alternatives of convergence, divergence in preferences and stable preferences. Arguments for convergence in attribute profiles among developed countries follow from the convergence in income that has occurred, more efficient markets, increases in trade and foreign direct investment, and possibly unmeasured social influence of cultural context on "tastes" (Lichtenberg 1996). Arguments for divergence maintain that with increasing affluence and technology, inherent taste differences between cultures of developed countries will be increasingly reflected in product variation.…”

Section: Convergence In the Attribute Profiles Of Automobiles As Diffmentioning

confidence: 98%

Convergence in Revealed Preferences for Automobiles as Differentiated Goods: U.S. and OECD Countries: 1970–1999

Silver

2009

Atl Econ J

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Section: Convergence In the Attribute Profiles Of Automobiles As Diffmentioning

confidence: 98%

Convergence in Revealed Preferences for Automobiles as Differentiated Goods: U.S. and OECD Countries: 1970–1999

Silver

2009

Atl Econ J

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“…As Lichtenberg (:276) has likewise emphasized, “The need for a car is not ‘absolute’ in the sense of existing irrespective of context. The economic system and the infrastructure could have evolved differently so that a car would not be an indispensable item of modern life.” Moreover, this process has not been limited solely to the development of a car system, as Lichtenberg (:277) emphasizes.…”

Section: Social Contingency Of the Adequacy Of Commodities And “Defenmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Treadmill of Production and the Positional Economy of Consumption

Curran

2017

Canadian Review of Sociology

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The theory of the treadmill of production highlights how the constant search for economic growth leads to advanced economies being stuck on a “treadmill,” where their well‐being is not improved by economic growth, yet the impacts of this pursuit of growth causes massive, unsustainable environmental damages. In interrogating the specific driving force that keeps the irrational system of the treadmill so powerfully in place, the theory of the treadmill of production focuses on how those who control the production process, corporations, are the primary agents driving the treadmill, while also highlighting how the state and workers generally continue to provide support for the treadmill's continued reproduction. In thinking about ways to begin to unwind the treadmill, there is a clear need to explore why workers, who are also consumers and citizens, continue to support (reluctantly or not) the treadmill of production. Through an analysis of the positional economy of consumption, this paper identifies key stakes that individual consumers have in expanding their income and consumption levels through the treadmill of production, despite the widespread inefficacy of the treadmill to increase aggregate satisfaction levels. This theory of the positional economy of consumption identifies the structural forces that lock individuals into increasing their income and levels of “defensive consumption” merely to maintain their existing levels of social practices and the well‐being generated from them, thus further supporting the reproduction of the treadmill of production. La théorie de l'‘engrenage de la production’ (‘treadmill of production’) démontre en quoi la recherche constante de croissance économique enferme les économies avancées dans un ‘engrenage’, où leur bien‐être n'est pas amélioré par la croissance économique, mais où les impacts de la poursuite de la croissance se traduisent par des dommages environnementaux massifs et irréparables. En analysant les forces spécifiques qui préservent ce système avec autant de pouvoir, cette théorie insiste sur l'importance de ceux qui contrôlent le processus de production (les corporations) en tant que principaux agents appuyant cet ‘engrenage’, tout en soulignant comment, d'une manière générale, l'Etat et les travailleurs persistent à soutenir sa perpétuation. En pensant aux manières d'arrêter cet ‘engranage’, il y a un besoin évident d'étudier pourquoi les travailleurs, qui sont aussi consommateurs et citoyens, persistent à soutenir (à contrecœur ou pas) cet ‘engrenage’ de la production. Grâce à une analyse de l'économie positionnelle de la consommation, cet article identifie les principaux intérêts qu'ont les consommateurs individuels à augmenter leurs revenus et leurs niveaux de consommation au sein de cet engrenage de la production, en dépit de son inefficacité générale à améliorer les niveaux de satisfactions agrégés. Cette théorie de l'économie positionnelle de la consommation identifie les forces structurelles qui enferment les individus dans une recherche d'augmentation de...

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“…O estilo de vida é "a individualidade do gosto", cujos indicadores mais comuns seriam os consumos categorizados por hábitos de lazer, passatempos e gosto no que toca a vestuário, música e livros ou o tipo de férias, entre outros (Katz -Gerro e Shavit, 1998). Esta convicção de que o consumo seria libertador e criativo também mereceu críticas, por exemplo as de quem entende que o consumo é mais um ato prático do que cultural (Lodziak, 2000), de quem defende que a influência dos outros nas escolhas de consumo é mais forte do que a autoexpressão individual (Lichtenberg, 1996) ou de quem recorda que as condições financeiras continuam a ser imprescindíveis para a "livre" criação de estilos de vida (Bogenhold, 2001).…”

Section: O Consumo Numa Perspetiva Sociológicaunclassified