Material Culture and Mass Consumerism

Exploring materialism and social relationships in modern culture

Material Culture and Mass Consumption offers an in-depth exploration of objects, objectification, ideology, and materialism in modern society. Drawing from Hegel, Marx, Munn, and Simmel, the discussion delves into the physicality of the material world and attempts to understand materialism as a form of cultural expression. Targeting mass production as the root of mass consumption, rather than the result, this book positions material goods at odds with genuine social interaction and questions these relationships from the abstract to the intensely specific.

Preface vii

Part I Objectification 1

1 Introduction 3

2 Hegel and Objectification 19

3 Marx: Objectification as Rupture 34

4 Munn: Objectification as Culture 50

5 Simmel: Objectification as Modernity 68

Part II Material Culture 83

6 The Humility of Objects 85

7 Artefacts in their Contexts 109

Part III Mass Consumption 131

8 The Study of Consumption 133

9 Object Domains, Ideology and Interests 158

10 Towards a Theory of Consumption 178

References 219

Index 233

Daniel Miller is the author of Material Culture and Mass Consumerism, published by Wiley.