Izvestiya of Saratov University.

Philosophy. Psychology. Pedagogy

ISSN 1819-7671 (Print)
ISSN 2542-1948 (Online)


Full text:
(downloads: 10)
Language: 
Russian
Heading: 
Article type: 
Article
UDC: 
111.1:1:(091)(44):141.131:502.12:1

The Society of Consumption as a Source of Social and Spiritual Risks

Autors: 
Orlov Mikhail Olegovych, Saratov State University
Abstract: 

The society of consumption (another name – consumer society), as it is studied and understood in modern scientific literature, is a complex and ambiguous phenomenon. On the one hand, the society of consumption is associated with the domination of material values over spiritual ones, on the other hand, they say that the main objects of consumption are not material things themselves, but their symbolic and social significance, i.e. the intangible dimension of the material world. Consumer society is a complex, ambiguous and internally contradictory social system that cannot be reduced to satisfying a mindless passion for entertainment. It is based on the paradigm of “good life” as the highest value which defines the consumer strategies of a person, connected with the desire to acquire the “best” not only for themselves, but also for others, to expand their life opportunities. In everyday life the rationality of behaviour is increased due to the need to study the characteristics and choice of the desired product, to master its functions in the use. The influence of consumer society on human behaviour does not always have a direct effect, but is due to the consumption standards set for a person by the social (“reference”) group to which he or she aspires to belong. 

Reference: 
  1. Radaev V. V. Sociology of Consumption: Basic Approaches. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Research], 2005, no. 1, pp. 5–18 (in Russian).
  2. Baudrillard J. La societe de consommation: ses mythes et ses structures. Paris, Gallimard, 1970. 320 p. (Russ. ed.: Baudrillard J. Obshchestvo potrebleniya. Ego mify i struktury. Moscow, Respublika Publ., 2006. 268 p.).
  3. Fromm E. Haben oder sein? Fur die Liebe zum Leben. Munchen, Neumarkte, 1976. 471 p. (Russ. ed.: Fromm E. Imet ili byt? Radi lyubvi k zhizni. Moscow, Ayris-Press Publ., 2004. 384 p.).
  4. Narykov N. V. Man in the Information Environment of Modern Society: Ambivalence of Nature and Essence of Information Man. Filosofi ya prava [Philosophy of Law], 2017, no. 1 (80), рp. 123–127 (in Russian).
  5. Shaev Yu. M. Ideologies of the Consumer Society and Virtual Narrative. Gumanitarnyy vektor [Humanitarian Vector], 2016, vol. 11, no. 1, pp. 111–115 (in Russian).
  6. Grishina A. A. Leisure in the society of consumption: the main trends of perception. Trudy Sankt-Peterburgskogo gosudarstvennogo instituta kultury [Proceedings of the St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture], 2013, vol. 195, pp. 75–79 (in Russian).