ΤΟ ΚΑΝΟΝΙΣΤΙΚΌ ΓΥΡΩ ΜΑΣ. ΣΗΜΕΙΩΣΕΙΣ ΓΙΑ ΜΙΑ ΓΕΝΕΑΛΟΓΊΑ ΤΗΣ ΣΎΓΧΡΟΝΗΣ ΚΑΤΑΝΑΛΩΤΙΚΗΣ ΚΟΙΝΩΝΙΑΣ

In this contribution I shall sketch some elements for a genealogy of contemporary consumer society, for what in a Foucauldian format could be called the "problematization of the historical conditions of our present". To undertake a genealogical study of "consumer society" entails a substantial shift in focus. A genealogy of contemporary consumer society, understood as an ideal type of social organization, demands first and foremost a problematization of the notion of the subject-consumer that we deal with and that we most often presuppose. Indeed, the very object calls for this as it clearly personalizes the type of society we live in as a society of consumers. The consumer is a moral battleground dressed up quietly or pompously in ordinary practices. Therefore, the paper considers some of the necessary theoretical steps for processes of subjectification to become an important focus of the analysis to facilitate a critical understanding of consumption beyond both celebratory and apocalyptic views.