Summary on "Consumer Culture"

“Consumer Culture” by Douglas J. Goodman and Mirelle Cohen is an evidenced based book which in chapter one “From consumption to consumer culture” outlines the main reasons for consumption. The main points which the authors try to put across is that consumer culture is a way of life and consumption is an act. The authors explains how consumer culture came about from the beginning to the consumer culture as we know it today. The authors explain that before the industrial revolution people consumed for the family and bought from local shops, things started to change when social competition became popular and the upper class people used fashion as a means to differ from people in same or lower social ranks. “the Elizabethan nobleman now began to spend less for his family and more to secure his place in this new social competition.”(Goodman, DJ. Cohen, M. Pg7) The authors go on to say that the “competitive consumption spread beyond the court to create new institutions and lay the foundation for a consumer culture”. (Goodman, DJ. Cohen, M. Pg7) The authors have interesting facts on fashion consumerism as they say that it has in a way shaped the way people consume out with fashion. Examples which they give is Wedgewood who was a manufacturer and retailer of pottery. He was one of the few people who understood the fashion phenomena and new it can be controlled. He knew that fashion was “characterised by trends and cannot exist without people” (Goodman, DJ. Cohen, M. Pg12) so he adapted this sort of thinking to his own company staying close to the next fashion trend in order to know what people are going to buy next. Many people then followed this sort of thinking and when one fashion began another would follow such as hot drinks which required cups to hold in.
In the 1st chapter Goodman and Cohen try to identify where consumer culture came from and how it evolved into what it is today. The Authors use interesting facts such as links between fashion consumed products to everyday products and the idea of evolution in shopping such as local stores to general markets and from department stores to shopping malls. The idea of people consuming more and more is supported by the way we live now.
In chapter 2 The authors back up their views on fashion consumption as they state “consumption is the sole end of all production” (Goodman, DJ. Cohen, M. Pg28) and go on to say that the reason people consume is due to either increase in salary or were led to “unwholesome desire” (Goodman, DJ. Cohen,M . pg28)
The author is trying to put across that the way we consume has come from the changes in society and is shaped by peoples new way of thinking. Before people would buy because they needed but nowadays people buy because they want and desire. The idea behind consumption is if fashion culture did not exist in society that the economy may not be the way it is today because fashion plays such a big role in the way people live.


Goodman, D J. Cohen, M. 2004. Consumer Culture. ABC-CLIO. Santa Barbbara, Calafornia.