ABSTRACT
To borrow from one of the greatest opening lines in English literature, it is a truth universally acknowledged that we now live in a consumer society (Austen, 1992). However, that is where the universality ends and the contention begins. Questions concerning the precise shape of this consumer society, its impact on our lives, our identities and relationships, our power and place in society are as fiercely debated today as they have been at any time since the explosion of modern consumer society in the postwar period (Osgerby, 1997). While the development of consumer society is commonly traced back to the industrial revolution of the late nineteenth century, modern consumerism is more commonly seen as a feature of the post-industrial society of the late twentieth century (Sassatelli, 2007). Moreover, interconnected processes at the heart of globalisation now mean that we live in an age where powerful transnational cultural corporations seek to shape consumption for a global market (Nederveen Pieterse, 2004).
