Adversaries of Consumption: Consumer Movements, Activism, and Ideology

This article focuses on consumer movements that seek ideological and cultural change. Building from a basis in New Social Movement (NSM) theory, we study these movements among anti‐advertising, anti‐Nike, and anti‐GE food activists. We find activists’ collective identity linked to an evangelical ide...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of consumer research 2004-12, Vol.31 (3), p.691-704
Main Authors: Kozinets, Robert V., Handelman, Jay M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activists
Capitalism
Conceptualization
Conspicuous consumption
Consumer advertising
Consumer culture
Consumer culture theory
Consumer economics
Consumer research
Consumerism
Consumers
Consumption
Cultural change
Culture
False advertising
Group identity
Ideology
Social activism
Social change
Social movements
Social order
Society
Sociology
Studies
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Summary:This article focuses on consumer movements that seek ideological and cultural change. Building from a basis in New Social Movement (NSM) theory, we study these movements among anti‐advertising, anti‐Nike, and anti‐GE food activists. We find activists’ collective identity linked to an evangelical identity related to U.S. activism’s religious roots. Our findings elucidate the value of spiritual and religious identities to gaining commitment, warn of the perils of preaching to the unconverted, and highlight movements that seek to transform the ideology and culture of consumerism. Conceiving mainstream consumers as ideological opponents inverts conventional NSM theories that view them as activists’ clients.
ISSN:0093-5301
1537-5277
DOI:10.1086/425104