As Bauman (1988, p. 25) suggests we now live in a consumer society which is creating new divisions. Bauman highlights the way in which society can be defined is by two groups “the Seduced and the repressed”.
Bauman claims that we are now living in a consumer society leading to inequalities which promises choice and freedom to those who are able to consume effectively but which denies such choices and freedoms to those who are not able to consume effectively. As Bauman explains the concept of the “seduced “are those people who are able to participate in a consumer society either because of wealth or being a valued member of a consumer society. Therefore, because these people are able to consume effectively in the eyes of others, they are awarded with social membership and status.
In contrast to the “Seduced,” the “Repressed” in Bauman’s terms are those who are on a low income, the unemployed, pensioners, migrants and people with disabilities. As the pressures to conform within a consumer society are strong, these people are often left excluded and devalued from others within society. An example of this may be someone who cannot afford to purchase a car, as being without a car in an area with poor public transport may lead to social isolation which in turn represents a form of social division. A further example might be a young person who does not have a mobile phone and who may therefore feel socially excluded especially as many friendships are maintained and formed through phone calls and texting.
Consumption can also be discussed in terms of how it contributes to expressing who we are as individuals and some people will buy consumer goods because it gives meaning to them in terms of their identity or how they fit in within a consumer society. When buying certain items some people feel they are able to define their status within society and feel measured by their clothes cars, gadgets, jewellery and even the size of the house they live in. Often people buy expensive items as a way of showing off to others as they believe the item they have brought expresses messages about who they are. This behaviour is described by social scientists as “Conspicuous Consumption”. The American sociologist Thorestein Veblen studied what he referred to as the “Conspicuous Consumption” of the new rich American industrialists in his book, The Theory of The Leisure Class (1899 p.31). He found that they often bought and displayed luxury goods in an attempt to demonstrate their wealth and status to others, which in his concept made these people the seduced of the nineteenth century.
The introduction of large scale supermarkets in modern society have made significant changes in patterns of consumption and are of key importance when discussing divisions within a consumer society. Many modern purchases take place nowadays in large supermarkets. On the surface large supermarkets offer choice and freedom to the consumer as they have a wide variety of goods long opening hours and cheap prices. It could be argued however, that due to supermarkets dominating many towns, this has created divisions in our high streets and has led to the closure of many smaller businesses. This thereby limits choices for those people who cannot easily reach supermarkets.
Many consumers who are able to now choose to shop at large supermarkets as they sell a wide range of products such as CDs and DVDS which is unlikely to be sold in smaller corner shops. Also in contrast to the local corner shop many large supermarkets have a value range which often appeals to those on a lower income such as pensioners, students and people on benefits. As previously highlighted the opening of supermarkets has led to divisions and competition in many towns between smaller businesses and large supermarkets such as Tesco. As a result many smaller businesses have been unable to compete and prosper and have faced closure and in some places the closure of smaller shops has meant that there is less choice for the consumer especially for those people who like to shop at an old family butchers or greengrocers. Furthermore, some people argue that the opening of large supermarkets have drained the “life blood out of the community” especially when the presence of Tesco or Asda in the high street has been linked to the closure of the local corner shop further up the road. Towns such as Bicester, Hove Dundee and Turo are examples of towns where the large supermarkets have impacted on smaller business indeed many people living in these towns have real concerns and feel that the lifeblood is being drained from their communities as well as this they feel they have little choice of where to shop.
In conclusion drawing upon what I have learned from the Making Social Lives book this essay has outlined that a consumer society is divided and as examples have shown society has been divided since the nineteenth century. However over time divisions within society has changed reflecting changes in patterns of consumer consumption. Divisions based on class have shifted to reflect divisions based on consumer choices and freedoms, whereby some people are able to purchase freely, whilst others for reasons of lack of money or lack of means to reach shops and in particular out -of –town supermarkets. This essay has also outlined how the presence of large supermarkets has created
divisions in many towns and has led to the closure of many smaller businesses which in some cases has led to less choice for the consumer. In my view and based on the evidence consumer society is a divided society.
Word count 1210
References
Baumann, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p. 25
Thorstein Veblen cited in Hetherington 2009, p. 31
Hetherington K (2009) ‘Consumer Society? Shopping consumption and social science’ in Taylor, S., Hinchlffe, S., Clarke, J.and Bromley, S. Making Social Lives, Milton Keynes, The Open University.
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jackiesallis1 (student)
