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Freedom of Consumer Society

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Freedom of Consumer Society
Plan
Introduction [allow 125 words]

* Essay will aim to explain what is the meaning of term ‘consumer society’ * Will consider whether people have a freedom of choice in this type of society

Main body [allow 950 words]

* Define ‘consuming’ * Explain how people moved from Industrial Society. * When consumption is more than buying things for their use, but more for their meanings. * Displaying goods and wealth in order to increase social status. * Conspicuous consumption according Thorstein Veblen book The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). * How inequalities in consumer society are created.

* The seduced and the repressed according Zygmunt Bauman (1988). * Exclusion of poor and praising of rich people. * Wish to fit in, how it is used against consumers. * Different income and different shopping places.

* Department stores – mark of luxurious. * Supermarket – only choice for poor, and their power of seduction.

* Supermarket pros and cons. * Consumers’ choice or industry’s dictation. * Alternative options to supermarkets and struggle of small business as well as creates difficult market for local farmers.

* Consumers’ wish for the inexpensive goods supports cheap labour overseas. * Are bad jobs better than no jobs? (may include example of Bangladeshi, Dhaka accident on April 24, killing at least 487 people)

Conclusion [allow 175 words]

Nowadays society buys not only for their direct purpose. Consumer society is creating inequalities between rich and poor. Poorer people may fall for seduction of supermarkets therefore supporting cheap overseas labour. However this concept also allows consumers to choose what kind of supply markets will provide, since they dictate what they what to buy as well as option of supporting local farmers.
Word Count: 265

Essay
‘’Explore the claim that consumer society is characterised by the freedom of choice’’
Consumer society is a


References: Hetherington, K. (2009) ‘Consumer society? in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds) Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University. Hetherington, K. (2009) ‘One-stop shopping: the power of supermarkets’ in Taylor, S., Hinchliffe, S., Clarke, J. and Bromley, S. (eds) Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
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