ABSTRACT
This chapter comments on early sociological theories focused on the nature of work and production in order to discuss theories related to how society has moved from a productionist-based economy to a consumption-based one. The chapter discusses consumer culture and its consumption practices from sociological perspectives. Contemporary sociologists of consumption seek to understand how it affects society and focus on terms of analysis such as expressivity, symbolisation, lifestyle, and individualisation. The chapter uses a dialectical approach seeing consumption both as a key practice in relation to individual constructions of self, and as a product of societal structures. In conclusion, the chapter comments on the irony that the consumerist society does not seek to satisfy any needs, but to produce them, and posits that whether this is seen as an opportunity to find meaning or as a site of social exploitation depends on the sociological perspective.
