Juliet Schor’s The New Politics of Consumption examines various proposals about why Americans want so much and provides theories about consumer culture. Critics who take a liberal approach say that the good life can be achieved by reaching a middle-class standard of living, and that income is crucial to well being. The Economic Policy Institute concentrates on the unequal distribution of income and wealth, and says that redistribution and growth is the answer. Schor, however, feels this is not the solution because “adequate income is an elusive goal.” (184) Schor addresses the social context of consumption (how consumption affects social standing) and emphasizes the importance of quality of life over quantity of possessions. The principles of “new consumerism” address competitive consumption and establish how people now use the very wealthy as the reference group off which to base their aspirations. Statistics support Schor’s argument throughout the reading, and the fact that only 15% of people said that they would be satisfied with “living a comfortable life” particularly amazed me. Because Americans are spending more and saving less, people are increasingly stressed, especially low-income families. New consumerism holds that income is used for private consumption, public consumption, private savings and leisure. Schor calls for a beneficial shift from private to public consumption as well as an increase in savings. The liberal stance to consumerism has faith in individual ability. It optimistically claims that consumers are rational, well-informed people who have consistent and independent preferences. Furthermore, it states that the production and consumption of goods have no external effects, for example on the environment, that aren’t reflected in the price of an item. This concept stuck out to me, which is why I chose Dr. Seuss's The Lorax as my media clip. The Lorax is very relevant to the concepts presented in this reading. It tells a tale about an “Onceler” (business character) who was very greedy and called for mass production to aid his business. People flooded the town in cars and tore down the trees in order to make more goods and earn more money. Interestingly, the face of the onceler is never shown, suggesting that he represents big corporations and enterprises rather than an individual. Because the public demand is so high, the company exhausts the resources and the land turns polluted and deserted, as it is unsuitable for living. This video signifies what could happen in America if this elevated level of consumption continues to hurt the environment. The idea of environmental damage due to consumer behavior is revisited on page 192. There are rebuttals to the economic model in the following pages, and sociologist Pierre Bourdieu states that class status is directly affected by consumer behavior. Finally, the reading ends by describing what Schor thinks the politics of consumption should look like. A few of these features include the right to a decent standard of living, ecologically sustainable consumption, and a consumer movement and governmental policy.
It's interesting that Schor moves from consumption as ABUSE to consumption as a HUMAN RIGHT. In other words, moving from desire for excess to the right to have a minimum standard of quality (or quantity) of life. That's a good point. It also makes us think about consumerism in terms of what enables us to be citizens, rather than a privilege for the wealthy or those with leisure time (or a credit card or three).
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