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The World of Goods
Mary Douglas,Baron Isherwood +1 more
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TLDR
The World of Goods as mentioned in this paper is a classic of economic anthropology whose insights remain compelling and urgent, arguing that poverty is caused as much by the erosion of local communities and networks as it is by lack of possessions and contrast small-scale with large-scale consumption in the household.Abstract:
It is well-understood that the consumption of goods plays an important, symbolic role in the way human beings communicate, create identity, and establish relationships. What is less well-known is that the pattern of their flow shapes society in fundamental ways. In this book the renowned anthropologist Mary Douglas and economist Baron Isherwood overturn arguments about consumption that rely on received economic and psychological explanations. They ask new questions about why people save, why they spend, what they buy, and why they sometimes-but not always-make fine distinctions about quality.
Instead of regarding consumption as a private means of satisfying one’s preferences, they show how goods are a vital information system, used by human beings to fulfill their intentions towards one another. They also consider the implications of the social role of goods for a new vision for social policy, arguing that poverty is caused as much by the erosion of local communities and networks as it is by lack of possessions, and contrast small-scale with large-scale consumption in the household.
A radical rethinking of consumerism, inequality and social capital, The World of Goods is a classic of economic anthropology whose insights remain compelling and urgent.
This Routledge Classics edition includes a new foreword by Richard Wilk.
"Forget that commodities are good for eating, clothing, and shelter; forget their usefulness and try instead the idea that commodities are good for thinking." – Mary Douglas and Baron Isherwoodread more
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Journal ArticleDOI
Social Anthropology of Technology
TL;DR: The anthropological study of technology and material culture is poised, finally, for a comeback, if in a different guise as discussed by the authors, and its findings may signifi cantly alter the way anthropologists analyze everyday life, cultural reproduc- tion, and human evolution.
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New market creation through transformation
Saras D. Sarasvathy,Nicholas Dew +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors consider new market creation as a process involving a new network of stakeholders, initiated through an effectual commitment that sets in motion two concurrent cycles of expanding resources and converging constraints that result in the new market.
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Older Consumers' Disposition of Special Possessions
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore precipitating events, emotions, and decisions associated with older consumers' disposition of special possessions, and emphasize the storied nature of the meanings consumers attach to their cherished possessions and the way in which these storied meanings are bundled with life review and disposition concerns.
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Fashion clothing consumption: antecedents and consequences of fashion clothing involvement
TL;DR: In this paper, the effect of materialism and self-image product image congruency on consumers' involvement in fashion clothing was examined via a self-completed mail survey, resulting in 478 responses being returned.
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Predicting online grocery buying intention: a comparison of the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior
TL;DR: Results suggest that the theory of planned behavior (with the inclusion of a path from subjective norm to attitude) provides the best fit to the data and explains the highest proportion of variation in online grocery buying intention.