The Authority Of The Consumer
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The Authority of the Consumer explores the growing tendency in contemporary British society to portray consumers as occupying the receiving end of a wide range of cultural and educational institutions. The aim of this collection is to explore the implications of this recent extension of the status of the consumer, charting out its meanings and debating the merits or drawbacks of this way of understanding the relationship between "providers" and "recipients." This book focuses on the radical shift of authority away from the producer and toward the consumer. The responses to this power shift have, however, differed. Some welcome it as a sign of democratization, anti-elitism and empowerment, while others decry it as mere commercialization, populism or a loss of integrity. There are still others who view this definition as yet another consumer discourse which only serves to enhance the power of producers. The contributors, working from several disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, explore such issues as the theories of Zygmunt Bauman, stereotypes in advertising and consumption as a postmodern "religion."
List of illustrationsNotes on contributorsPrefaceIntroduction11Scepticism, authority and the market232Authority and consumer society433Consumers, identity and belonging: reflections on some theses of Zygmunt Bauman584The organized consumer and consumer information co-operatives755Advertising: moving beyond the stereotypes916The limits of consumption and the post-modern 'religion' of the New Age1027High art and the high street: the 'commerce-and-culture' debate1198Planning a culture for the people?1389The culture of consumption: design museums as educators or tastemakers?15410Framing the audience for theatre16611Citizens, charters and contracts18912Consuming health and welfare20713Consuming education22314Retailing the police: corporate identity and the Met.24015Conversationalization of public discourse and the authority of the consumer253Name index269Subject index274
