Consumption and Life-Styles (eBook)

Dr Dieter Bögenhold is Professor at the Faculty of Economics at Alpen-Adria-University at Klagenfurt, Austria. His research focuses primarily on the areas of the history of economic thought, consumption and economic sociology, globalization, social stratification and inequality and entrepreneurship research. He has authored more than 250 publications and numerous monographs.Dr Farah Naz is Lecturer in Sociology and Criminology at the University of Sargodha, Pakistan, and has twenty years of teaching experience. She previously worked in the Department of Education, Government of Punjab for ten years. She received several international awards and honours across 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2015. Some recurring themes in her research are industrial relations, gender and consumption.

Contents 5
List of Figures 7
Chapter 1 Introduction 8
Abstract 8
References 13
Chapter 2 Consumption: Different Perspectives and Academic Responsibilities 15
Abstract 15
References 21
Chapter 3 Consumption Within the History of Economic and Social Thought 23
Abstract 23
References 31
Chapter 4 Consumption, Lifestyles and Taste 32
Abstract 32
Lifestyles and Social Stratification 33
Taste and Fashion 37
References 41
Chapter 5 Conspicuous Consumption 43
Abstract 43
The Social Construction of Beauty 44
Preferences: Variability and Stability 51
References 55
Chapter 6 Culture, Advertising and Consumption 57
Abstract 57
Advertising and Society in Perspective 58
Global Consumer Culture and Advertising 61
Homogenization and Heterogenization Within Consumption 73
References 76
Chapter 7 Gender and Social Relations of Consumption 79
Abstract 79
Gender and Consumption from a Historical Perspective 80
The Social Relations of Consumption 85
Gender, Consumption and “Engineered” Needs 87
References 90
Chapter 8 Money, Consumption and Happiness 91
Abstract 91
Perspectives on Happiness 92
The Economic Perspective 92
The Sociological Perspective 94
Consumption and Happiness 96
A Paradox: Do Money and Consumption Matter for Happiness 99
References 103
Chapter 9 In Times of Globalization: Gift Giving and the McDonaldization of Consumption 107
Abstract 107
References 114
Bibliography 116
Index 130