Consumption in Affluent Societies of Industrialized Nations

What is consumption and its relationship with the affluent society? This is the key question this article tries to answer. It will investigate how consuming practices came into being in the modern society of the twentieth century. Major contributions from economic and sociological theory will be discussed, focusing on the recent developments in the sociology of consumption. The debate arises when pundits agree that tastes and preferences are interdependent and hinge on the context they are embedded into. Important studies discover that consumption practices can be explained through a model based on competition for social status. People do have their own preferences and do make choices reflecting and characterizing the group they belong to. Moreover, the autonomous role of culture in defining consuming behavior is highlighted in parallel with a more conscious and active consumer in his decision-making process. Far away from the atomistic and utilitaristic standpoint of economics, the subject of consumption is autonomous and embedded in systems of values and social relationships, which are helpful in the social construction of consumption. The last unanswered question is how the shift from modernity to postmodernity is redefining the process of consumption. It has been said that the abundance of commodities is leading towards a fragmentation of the consumption activities typical of a postmodern society. While several theaters—as symbolic space where interactions occur—are emerging, the leisure activities are gaining room and calling for attention. The redefinition of practices and time for work and leisure is suggesting a demand for a re-enchantment of the world against the impersonal and rationalized world of labor

L'articolo cerca di mettere in luce gli aspetti sociologici più significativi della relazione tra modernità, pratiche di consumo e società affluenti. Lontano dai contributi economici che considerano l'attore sociale un atomo isolato le cui preferenze di consumo sono indipendenti dal loro contesto sociale, la teoria sociologica mette in evidenza l'autonomia di un soggetto che si muove all'interno di sistemi di valori e di relazioni sociali radicate in un contesto. Recentemente, il dibattito tra modernità e postmodernità ha messo in luce una frammentazione delle attività di consumo che porta a una ridefinizione delle arene, quali spazi simbolici di interazione sociale, caratterizzate dai nuove domande di tempi di lavoro e tempi di vita quotidiana.