Front cover image for Consumerism in twentieth-century Britain : the search for a historical movement

Consumerism in twentieth-century Britain : the search for a historical movement

This is the first comprehensive history of consumerism as an organised social and political movement. It explores the history of consumer organisations in twentieth-century Britain and makes a major contribution to an expanding inter-disciplinary discussion of the role of consumption in modern society.
Print Book, English, 2003
Cambridge Univ. Press, New York, 2003
XIII, 382 Seiten : Illustrationen
9780521831291, 0521831296
237825019
Introduction: luxury's shadow; Part I. Necessity: 1. Socialism, cooperation, free trade and fair trade: the politics of consumption in the nineteenth century; 2. Revolutionary shoppers: the Consumers' Council and scarcity in World War I; 3. The right to live: consumer 'ideology' in inter-war Britain; 4. The price of depression: consumer politics after World War I; 5. Austerity to affluence: the twilight of the politics of necessity; Part II. Affluence: 6. The new consumer: good housewives and enlightened businessmen; 7. The professionals: the origins of the organised consumer movement; 8. Individualism enshrined: the state and the consumer in the 1960s; 9. The right to shop: consumerism and the economy; 10. The duty of citizens: consumerism and society; 11. Affluence or effluence: globalisation and ethical consumerism; Conclusion: the quantity or the quality of choice.