Explore the Idea a Consumer Society Is a Divided Society free essay sample

This essay will explore the notion that a consumer society is a divided society. By using the information presented in the making social lives booklet it is hoped this essay will present itself clearly in its dialogue offering concise points of discussion relevant to the topic at hand. This essay will look at what consumer society is, how it evolved and why society might be considered consumerist also at how different members of society consume and why these things contribute to the opinion of divisions within a consumer society. Social historians could argue that the idea a of consumer society started as far back as the late 1800s. It was department stores that brought consumer culture to the masses. The first purpose built department store was erected in France in 1869, the Bon Marche. This was the first occasion where many goods that would have previously been sold in separate shops were all under the same roof. This trend found its way to the UK, but unlike the purpose built store in Paris, they grew organically from grocers, drapers or indoor markets. This was a period of mass production where Items could be produced on industrial scale and moved in large quantities around the country, driving down the price of goods and allowing a wider section of society to take part in consuming, although still not the poor. The social scientist Veblen observed that people were buying things to raise their social standings by demonstrating to others their ability to consume and setting an impression to the rest of society (Veblen cited in Hetherington, 2009, P26). It has been a common thought by social scientists that the social identity in the UK should be considered industrial and defined by class. However, this social identity started to shift throughout the 1980s. During this period Social scientist would talk about a post-industrial society where traditional manufacturing industries started to disappear. This lead to changes in the working class communities, more jobs were created in the customarily middle class service sector which lead to class identities becoming less clear. As this shift happened society started to judge more on what it consumed as opposed to what it manufactured. Political freedoms, like the right to vote and being part of trade unions, were during industrial society seen as important social factors with self-identity largely defined by ones employment, with social inclusion forged by a person’s class or status and the behaviours that were appropriate to such standings (Hetherington, 2009, P22). It is these very freedoms and xpressions that start to leave society as industry becomes less visible in society, being replace by consumer freedoms. (Bauman cited in Hetherington, 2009, P26). Bauman believes we live in a consumer society and suggest that people in modern western society are divided into two groups, the seduced and the repressed. The seduced, Bauman tells us, are people who have the means to consume effectively in the eyes of other consumers. They can consume in ways that allow them to create the identity they want to be perceived to have. They are seen to give impression of status and membership within a certain demographic of society. The repressed he tells us are marginalised by society for not being able to consume effectively in the eyes of others. Typically members of this group would include the unemployed, the low paid, people in part time or casual employment, people with disabilities or middle aged people and those who live off a pension. Money plays a part in placing people in one group, or the other, but it is not the only thing to be taken into account. For instance, a young person with little money might be able to consume more effectively than someone on a similar income, but who might also be disabled. Bauman uses broad terms, seduced and repressed, to clearly explain his ideas. However, there are many categories of divisions that fall under the terms of seduced and repressed. These divides can be created by things like age, gender, fashion, being able to go to â€Å"cool† bars or being able to spot the consumer trends. You might have an old person with limited money, someone who is not â€Å"online† or someone who just isn’t â€Å"in the know†. Perhaps someone suffering with a disability has to prioritise their money on their treatment or care meaning they have no disposable income, leaving them with a sense of isolation and exclusion from society (Bauman cited in Hetherington, 2009, P27). The notion of luxury and abundance is now, in a modern UK society, exuded by out of town shopping malls or retail parks. Typically located near a major motor way with commuter links, restaurants, cinemas as well as the clothes, food and electrical shops you would have once expect to find on a typical high street. These retail parks have come to embody modern consumer society of the twenty first century. It’s been suggested that to be able to take advantage of these places one would need to have certain things available to them, for instance a car to commute to the out of town location, or the extra disposable money that would be required to take the bus there and back. Following this line of thought takes us back to the idea of seduced and repressed consumers and the division within society based on those who can consume effectively and those who cannot. Veblen coined the phrase conspicuous consumption. He tells us people are trying to send a message out to society, they want to be perceived a certain way by others through what and how they consume. Veblen suggests that people are not only consuming goods but commodities too and the social messages that are attached to them (Veblen cited in Hetherington, 2009, P34). An example of this could be someone who buys groceries only from farmers markets, or to go a step further, someone who only buys organic produce, from farmers markets. These choices project an image and send a clear message to society of that person’s values and beliefs and contribute to the idea of divisions within consuming. Not everyone can afford to buy the more expensive organic or local produce or they may not have the means to get to the farmers market to consume those products. Susman suggested people are judged not so much by class, but by how they consume, what they consume and the message that sends out to society (Susman cited in Hetherington, 2009, P42). In line with that idea, It has been proposed that people who cannot consume effetely are not just being restricted, more importantly, according to Bauman â€Å"Your identity becomes devalued, you become devalued and seen as a non-participant in a society where membership and belonging are defined by one’s ability to consume† (Bauman cited in Hetherington, 2009, p46). It is not a new concept that society is divided. It has been suggested that long before society was considered consumerist it was divided, they were just defined by different rules and values. This essay has, by using the theories and ideas of social scientists like Veblen, Susman and Bauman, clearly highlighted the ways in which a consumer society is divided, how those divisions are different from traditional divides in society and why they are significant. Consuming to exude an identity that allows someone to be perceived a certain way and allowing membership to a certain demographic or excluding people base on those same reasons is fundamentally divisive. As explored in this essay there are also many sub divides or groups that widen the scope of division within society, based on other factors. Today modern society hasn’t forgotten the class divisions of the past; it has just introduced new rules with which to set and distinguish such statuses and divisions.