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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
Exploring ethnic consumer response to crossover brand extensions
TL;DR: This paper investigated the impact of cultural identity on ethnic consumer response to ethnic crossover brand extensions, i.e., brands associated with one ethnic group that crossover into a product category associated with another ethnic group (e.g., McDonald's Cafe con leche ).
Journal ArticleDOI
Children and business: pluralistic ethics of marketers
TL;DR: In this article, the authors lay the foundations of a code of ethics for the marketing industry, which is designed to serve as a pragmatic paradigm and it is destined for marketers who are both decision-makers and social stakeholders.
Journal ArticleDOI
Global Ethics of Collective Internet Governance: Intrinsic Motivation and Open Source Software
TL;DR: This article believes that the growth of global OSS has fundamental implications for business ethics and the governance of the global Internet in the twenty-first century.
Journal ArticleDOI
Fetal sex determination and gendered prenatal consumption
TL;DR: Although expectant mothers have long purchased items in preparation for their baby’s birth, the timing and type of purchases being made have changed in response to pregnant women routinely learning the sex of their fetus through ultrasound, which inspires earlier purchases of baby items than was normative 30 years before.
Dissertation
Queering heteronormativity at home in London
TL;DR: In this paper, a London-based contemporary study of sexuality at home is presented, which draws from architectural history, feminist and queer theory as well as geographies of sexualities to interrogate the stability of domesticity.