Consumerism

This entry covers the various layers of meaning of the term “consumerism.” It outlines its historical legacy as a term of critique, which has shaped the dominant understanding of consumerism as an ethic and way of life revolving around consumption. In recent debates, the meanings of the term have diversified. Consumerism is either seen as the ideology of conspicuous consumption, as an economic or political ideology, or refers to the collective organization of consumer interests and the institutionalization of consumer rights and policy. Despite the ongoing usage of “consumerism” as a term of criticism of excessive and obsessive forms of consumption, recent research discusses many varieties of consumerism, ranging from political, critical, ethical, green, financial, or queer consumerism to anti‐ or post‐consumerism.