The Myth of Consumerism by Conrad Lodziak - 9780745317601

The Myth of ConsumerismAuthor(s): Conrad Lodziak\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: Pluto Press, United Kingdom\nImprint: Pluto Press\nISBN-13: 9780745317601, 978-0745317601\nSynopsis\nWestern culture is awash with the advertising, brand-names and labels of conspicuous consumerism. Accordingly, consumerism has become central to critical discussions of identity, postmodernity and culture as never before. \n\nAnd yet critiques of consumerism are largely confined to those who argue either for or against notions of elitism or manipulation. Theorists such as Bauman, Giddens and Hall do not offer alternatives to consumerism, but argue that it is an all-enveloping and inescapable imperative, and a dominant motivation in contemporary life. \n\nThis book challenges the assumptions behind these discussions of consumerism, and to broaden our understanding of the true nature of contemporary society. Lodziak argues that all-encompassing visions of consumerism are useful only as an ideology. They are .