Consumer

An individual that purchases commercial goods or services made available on a market place (Collin 82). Although the term can be applied to a group, like a family or company, it is most frequently associated with an individual person. It has been argued that all individuals are now consumers, not citizens, in a neoliberal context and people are expected to engage with society as an economic unit, based on the values of a system of exchange (Darity 100, Trentman 148). The consumer is now charged with doing their part and maintaining the health of a nation through consumption, as seen in efforts to encourage consumer spending to strengthen a national economy like in the USA after 9/11 (O’Brien and Szeman 151).

Consumers depend on producers, who provide the goods and services that they need or want. However, producers also depend on consumers to purchase their products and provide them with profit, resulting in significant efforts in marketing to encourage consumption (O’Brien and Szeman 157). This reliance on consumer demand is sometimes seen as a source of power and influence (“purchasing power”) in society (Lockie 193, Harris 195). In this view, consumer citizens are empowered to “vote with your dollar.” Women are often especially encouraged to take part in this system and capitalize on their power as consumers (Harris 163, O’Brien and Szeman).

Actions like boycotts aim to use this power strategically and politicize consumer choices, but the choice between “good” and “bad” products is arguably subjective (Trentman 149). The production of goods and services is often a troubling, unclear and problematic process, leaving no clear ethical answer, and a consumer may simply have incomplete access to goods or information (Lockie 195). Therefore, a consumer’s capacity to truly choose and actually exert this power is suspect (O’Brien and Szeman 163). For example, Slavoj Zizek examines a consumer’s capacity to truly engage in an ethical consumption through buying goods associated with charities or ideas, and he questions the actual good done by these actions.

The role of consumers in shaping their society is under constant discussion and is certainly an unsettled matter. As “consumer” is increasingly used in place of terms such as “patient,” “participant,” or “recipient,” its meaning will continue to evolve. In a neoliberal context where the consumer is a (the?) key actor, the term must be explored.

References

Peter, Collin. Dictionary of Business. Huntingdon: A&C Black, 2006. Web. 22 Nov. 2012.

Darity, William A, ed. “Consumer.” International Encyclopedia of Social Sciences. Vol. 2. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 99-102. Web. 22 Nov. 20012.

Harris, Anita. “Jamming Girl Culture: Young Women and Consumer Citizenship.” All About the Girl: Culture, Power and Identity. New York: Routledge, 2004. 163-171. Print.

Lockie, Stewart. “Responsibility and Agency within Alternative Food Networks: Assembling the ‘Citizen Consumer.’” Agriculture and Human Values 26.3 (2009): 193-201. Web. 22 Nov. 2012.

O’Brien, Susie, and Imre Szeman. Popular Culture: A User’s Guide. 2nd ed. Toronto: Nelson Education, 2010. Print.

Trentman, Frank. “Citizenship and Consumption.” Journal of Consumer Culture 7.2 (2007): 147-158. Web. 22 Nov. 2012.

Zizek, Slavoj. “RSA Animate - First As Tragedy, Then As Farce.” RSA Animate. Youtube.com, 28 July 2010. Web. 22 Nov. 2012.