Why I Buy

Self, Taste, and Consumer Society in America

Rami Gabriel

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English

Intellect Books
15 April 2013

Consumerism

Why do we buy? How do our acts of—and ideas

about—consumption impact our selves, our institutions, and our

societies? An incisive response to these questions, Why I Buy explains how consumption came to give meaning and value to social and personal life. Balancing

psychological, conceptual, and historical analyses with examples drawn

from popular culture and mass media, Rami Gabriel traces the ways in

which beliefs about the self—including dualism, individualism, and

expressivism—influence consumer behavior. These understandings of the

self, Gabriel argues, structure the values that Americans seek and find

in consumer society; they therefore have structural consequences for our

cultural, political, and economic lives. For example, Gabriel describes

how imbalances in the institutions of participatory politics have

directly resulted from a consumer society centered on powerful

nongovernmental institutions and a scattered body of disengaged citizens

whose social and individual needs are not primarily satisfied through

civic involvement. By exploring the relationship between our individual

needs and our institutions, Gabriel ultimately points the way toward

transformations that could lead to a more sustaining and sustainable

society.

By: Rami Gabriel
Imprint: Intellect Books
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 178mm, Spine: 9mm
Weight: 290g
ISBN: 9781841506456
ISBN 10: 1841506451
Pages: 166
Publication Date: 15 April 2013
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Acknowledgments Introduction: My Self and Consumer Society Chapter 1: Dualism: What I Really Am Chapter 2: Individualism: The Liberal Dream of the Rugged Individualist Chapter 3: Expressivism: I Sing Myself Chapter 4: Consumer Society Chapter 5: Advertisements: Representations of the Self Chapter 6: The Rest of the World: An Empirical Test Conclusion: What Next?

Rami Gabriel is an assistant professor of psychology at Columbia College Chicago.