ABSTRACT
A majority of international contemporary consumer research studies assumes that consumption has achieved a state of universal relevance. This chapter draws on Niklas Luhmann's theory of the modern, primarily functionally differentiated society as a theoretical lens to explore the possibility of the consumption literature portraying a world of universal consumption that does not exist. It sketches out the pillars of Luhmann's general theory of society. The chapter explains his theoretical distinction of service and audience roles, focusing particularly on (post-)modern consumption as a specific kind of audience role. It adopts this Luhmannian perspective to challenge the universality of consumption thesis and to raise important questions about the consequences that it could have for society as well as our theory of societal organization if this thesis was true. Niklas Luhmann decided to spend his academic career on developing a theory of the modern society, a society that he considered first and foremost as functionally differentiated.
