Consumers Markets and Culture Essay Example for Free

Consumers Markets and glossiness shewComp are and contrast the changing experiences of consumers from the year 1900 until present day. How do the theories of Marx, Durkheim and weber help to explain the changing consumer experience and the emergence of contemporary consumer high purchase order?Until the eighteenth century the word consumption meant waste (Williams, 1976)As consumers our experience of consumption today is exponentially different from that at the turn of the twentieth century in the recently urbanised and industrialised modern nation. Consumer culture is traditionally described in terms of the arrival of fate consumption as a counterpart to chew production as a leave of the Fordist system (Miles, S). Choice is one of the biggest factors of the changing experience for consumers, during the 1950s after the austerity years the at a time aging baby boomers were part of large scale changes to consumption patterns.For example as women began to enter the hit place passing less time to run the home, products were being developed to ease the burden of housework, rinse machines, fridges and vacuum cleaners were among these products the forever-growing use of hire purchase to enable consumers to afford these luxury products, combined with Fordist manners of mass production reducing the manufacturing price of the products leaveed the economy to grow strong once again. As video recording grew in popularity advertize was increasely utilised by businesses to sell their products creating a far more impersonal purlieu while shopping for products. From this time the standard of living has been increasing up until present day (The Economist, 2008) with the aspirations of clubhouse increasing further still.Marx presents his theories as a materialist understanding of society, explaining capitalism as an unequal system establish on the exploitation of the rase class (Abercrombie N et al, 2006), a system based on redundancy take account be ing extracted, the capitalists entire aim is to maximise the gap between repute produced and value paid for (Slater D, 1997). Which a hundred yearsago meant using Fordist methods of production to bring round off costs and reducing the skill required of workers which in turn reduced the compensation required for workers. The Fordist method of production first seen around 1911 (Cohen and Kennedy, 2007), Alienated workers from the act of production. In his system of Alienation Marx describes human total as being realised by labour (Abercrombie et al, 2006) and working as an alien activity that offers no inalienable satisfaction as the worker has no control over what is produced this way out of ownership and loss of control over the workers own life due(p) to man daysment organising and enforcing the labour.Where during the early twentieth our working classes were exploit and Alienated, now capitalists in the quest towards decreasing wages and widening the gap between value p roduced and value paid for are increasing looking to less economically developed countries where costs of production, epically workers are lots lower. The counties known as BRIC economic group (Brazil, Russia, India and China). By indiscriminately consuming as a society, this encourages the elabo appraiseness of exploitation of foreign working classes. Bauman proposes post-industrial societies are governed by aesthetics of consumption rather than ethics of production (Cohen Kennedy, 2007). Organisations such as Apple, Nike and similarly Primark are guilty of this system, the former both retailing premium priced products produced at the lowest cost possible cost, by attaching symbolic inwardness to the products.Primark produces clothes at the lowest cost possible which are retailed for the lowest cost possible consumers buy into this system with no feelings of guilt, as these products allow consumers to display possessions acting as amicable glue possibly due in part to the incr easing Alienation of workers as society is increasingly detached from production with the service based economy we savour today. Durkheims concept of Anomie is similar to Alienation, discussing Anomic suicide due to slew no intentional how they fit in with society where possessions are used as social glue allowing consumers to display their beliefs and social groups. It is harder to relate Marxs definitions of the class system as the proximity to production is becoming increasingly removed(p) for most of society.Every capitalist is trying to decrease the wages and consumption of their own workers and entice everyone elses workers to consume to their limit andbeyond. (Slater, D 1997)Marxism, as other modern economic theories believe, that the production and consumption of products is intrinsically connected, in the sense that incomes from production and consumer buying power are two sides of the same coin. (Slater, D 1997). This theory is particularly relevant now due to the cur rent economic climate. As the recession began in 2008 more workers lost their jobs or suffered significant cuts in wages this resulted in a widespread reduction in consumer spending as a result society ended up a cycle of ever decreasing demand where the government had to intervene to stimulate spending. Of the stimulus the VAT reduction had an impact by reducing the cost of products, to reduce ever growing back up of cars as they still needed to be produced to keep the workers in employment the car scrapage scheme was introduced temporarily (Lloyds, 2009). In this scheme two thousand pounds was offered if a old car was scrapped in exchange for a new car.Capitalists driven to mass production, not by greed but conditions of capitalism (Edwards T, 2000), if not competing, competitors will capture markets done lower prices. This practice discussed by Marx leads to situations like the above were supply far exceeds demand. A good example of over production can be found by searching for any random product on a supplier listings website, Alibaba.com have over 64,979 different belt buckles available. Durkheim predicted that modern industrial societies would over-emphasise the importance of personal identity which would erode social stability and solidarity (Schmidt, R 2010), consumers are sold their own individuality through advertising campaigns a some examples are Dells Yours is here, My Yahoo. Products are increasingly customisable, mobile audio cases are a hugely popular consumer item. Durkheim argues that people can only be happy when their wants are proportionate to their means.Left to themselves, human desires are boundless together with necessarily limited recourses, creates great sadness or ultimately suicide (Abercrombie et al 2006). Society controls the problem of unattainable goals by restricting desires through values aimed at permitting only goals which have some chance of attainment. The X-Factor is currently the most popular television program ( Plunkett, J 2010) as dreams of mostly unattainable goals are being realised for a halcyon number of consumers. Thisis a stark contrast to the 1940s where society was based around family values, working together to repair Britain where jobs were expected for life. Anomie describes the situation when this framework breaks down, goals again outrun means and suicide rate rises (Abercrombie et al 2006). Weber predicted that society would experience unprecedented inner retirement of the single individual (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), this is a very accurate description of the contemporary experience, more than ever consumers are looking to the symbolic meaning of products to identify with their desired social groups and status.Social media is an interesting way to examine the inner loneliness experienced, taking facebook where consumers might have several hundred friends who are merely acquaintances, with few solid friendships, while thither is pressure to appear to have acquired huge number s of friends on social networks. To explore further into the loneliness of individuals, one in three households now have equitable one member compared with one in five in the 1970s (BBC, 2004) this is known as the meal for one society, more than half the meals eaten in the UK are now eaten alone. Traditional family unit is also becoming less common, with predictions indicating that in 2011 more than cardinal percent of marriages will end in divorce (BBC, 2004). Weber discuses formal rationalisation of society as it becomes more industrialised and that this rationality is inevitable, the greater calculability required for rationalisation has affected greatly the consumer experience (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), consumers moreover for the wealthy classes, have an impersonal consumption experience.Self service check outs are a perfect tense example of this, once a shop keeper in the local store, would ring through and looker up your products now in the national and often multinational store, consumers ring through and bag up their own shopping. The systematic measured approach to contemporary life has created a predictable almost emotionless society, the consumption of university is a relevant example to the author, students are recognised by their identification number only, few if any university staff will know students names, no individuality between the students leaving students to display their temper and attachments through the conspicuous consumption of goods with symbolic meaning. Whereas the baby boomers will remember university involving debates with kind tutors, with little care about appearances. This system creates greater efficiency, economic growth andcontrol of nature, the iron cage in describes this situation.However it does lead society towards the theories of Anomie and Alienation by Durkheim and Marx respectively. Calculability becomes an organising principle in the overall personality where ever more of our behaviour is informed by consist ent logical expectations of human beings and of the environment. Spontaneity and impress are experienced less and less in society, with calculability everything becomes increasingly predictable, unexpected events are planned for and avoided through policies and rules.The commoditisation of adventure is a good example of the disenchantment of society, Disneyland and all it represents takes the excitement out of spontaneity due to the iron cage of functionalism and rationality. Weber sees class defined by income, (Cohen Kennedy, 2007) explaining that classes form around market positions, amongst people who share similar life chances which is relevant to the differences seen in society today from that at 1900, social mobility untold more fluid with government actively perusing policies pulling people up the class system.The theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber are relevant to society today Weber the youngest of the theorists has accurate concepts relating to the bureaucracy experien ced in the post-industrial age which explain well the changing experiences of consumers. Durkheims theories on Anomie in relation to individualism and the disruption of society while religions stability isnt the answer are partially interesting in explaining how society consumes conspicuously, using products as social glue to find a place in society.Marxs intellect on Alienation of workers, as Anomie explains aspects of the consumer mindset today. The globalisation of business taking the class sputter Marx discuses around the world. The current economic climate demonstrates that capitalism has failings even if the least of these is disconnecting individuals from a more intrinsic and meaningful existences within society.Capitalism simultaneously produces more goods and less effective demand to pay for them. (Slater, D 1997)ReferencesAbercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference Dictionary of Sociology. fifth Ed Pengin, London. P 235 Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 360 Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 14 Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. 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