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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
Desire-Induced, Innate, Insatiable?:
TL;DR: The authors summarized the historians' views of the nature of changes in consumption and of the dimensions and causes of these changes and concluded that "an explosion of interest in consumption has occurred among American and European historians".
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Material possessions as stereotypes: Material images of different socio-economic groups
TL;DR: In this paper, the existence and extent of consensual stereotypes about different socio-economic groups in Britain in terms of material objects was investigated, and the five possessions that 36 business commuters, 50 unemployed people and 40 students listed as most important for themselves were compared with the objects that they thought typical members of the other two groups would treasure.
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The bare necessities: how much household carbon do we really need?
Angela Druckman,Tim Jackson +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors explore the potential for a Reduced Consumption Scenario in the UK constructed by assuming that households achieve a specific "minimum income standard" which is deemed to provide a decent life for each household type.
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Do Friends Influence Purchases in a Social Network
TL;DR: This study empirically examines the issue of do friends influence purchases of users in an online social network; which users are more influenced by this social pressure; and can this social influence be quantified in terms of increase in sales and revenue.