Abstract:This article examines the limitations of the concept of sustainable consumption in terms of the inadequate attention given to the social, cultural and historical contextualization of consumption. I argue that Macromarketing should adopt modes of inquiry that more fully engage with this contextualization. The implicit assumptions of 'sustainable consumption' center on the rational individual and his or her needs and wants, and neglect the significance of consumption practices as embodying the relations between individuals. Acts of consumption are not in opposition to, and prior to, macro structures and processes, they are macro processes at work. Consumer practices are cultural and social practices that have historically developed, and are manifestations of both local and global linkages of social interdependencies. To continually look at the consumer as the cause of the ecological problem effectively decontextualizes consumption from such interdependencies. It posits a macro problem onto a micro situation and seeks the solution there.Keywords: sustainable consumption; consumer culture; history; social process INTRODUCTIONThe purpose of this article is to demonstrate the inadequacy of contemporary accounts of sustainable consumption in terms of their static, individualistic and rationalistic tendencies. This is not an endorsement of a postmodern approach, but rather an attempt to stress the need for accounts of consumption, and therefore of the possibility of achieving sustainable consumption, within the historical flow and flux of social and cultural processes. Such processes encompass their own shifting power relations and struggles, which enable alternative visions of society to emerge. Every national society has its own history, though such histories are inevitably intertwined with others. Therefore, when we seek to develop solutions towards sustainable development in terms of sustainable consumption, we need to attempt to trace particular histories of consumption, in their changing form and function, in order to identify culturally specific modes of intervention; in order to make change more likely. This means definitions of 'sustainable consumption' must be multiple and fluid. Existing definitions are prescriptive. They do not describe what consumption is, but what it should be. It is precisely the assumptions of these universal prescriptions that are contested here.

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The development of consumer subjectivity cannot be solely understood in terms of the intentions, strategies and discursive practices emanating from diverse power centres. Following Elias, and using Ireland as an empirical case, the consumer is presented as undergoing a shift along a continuum of We-I balances towards the latter pole. This occurs within the context of increasing social interdependencies, functional specialization and social integration. Through complex, unplanned social processes over time, the consumer is seen more individualistically. I conclude by suggesting that there are opportunities to synthesize figurational and Foucauldian approaches to consumer subjectivity once long-term social change is prioritized. Key wordsThe question of who the consumer is has received considerable attention in recent years, and is often an implicit assumption in many academic accounts of consumer culture. Slater (1997: 33-62) argues that modern thought tends to characterize the consumer as either hero or dupe, someone in rational control of their interests and how to satisfy them, or someone manipulated by the machinations of the market and its operators. In the former social category the consumer has sovereignty over their own needs and desires, which are private and normatively beyond the control or determination by others. The latter model denotes the consumer as a more passive recipient of information and persuasion regarding the type of life one should lead and the means to conform to it. Clearly, these oppositional models raise questions about subjectivity, or the extent to which one is expected to conform to broader social expectations and ideals in practices of consumption, or alternatively, rely exclusively on one's own dispositions to steer one's actions in the marketplace.

This article illustrates how the figurational sociology associated with Norbert Elias provides an alternative theoretical framework for explaining the relationship between, 'individualorganization-society' and organizational change, and in so doing transverses what is conceived as a false dichotomy between structure and agency. Through an historical case study of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland, the 'individual-organization-society' relationship is conceptualized as overlapping figurations and organizational change is explained as figurational dynamics-the shifting social interdependencies between the individuals and groups comprising an organization, between that organization and other organizations, between social groups on a higher level of integration and competition. In tandem with this, the article illustrates how changes in the sources of power and identity are connected with these figurational dynamics.Different theoretical explanations of change are underpinned by specific conceptualizations of the individual-organization-society relationship, or the different manifestations of this relationship, namely structure-agency or individual-society, within organization theory. Indeed, Reed (2005)

This paper examines the development of different forms of spectator violence in terms of the socio-temporal structure of situational dynamics at Gaelic football matches in Ireland. The nature of violent encounters has shifted from a collective form based on local solidarity and a reciprocal code of honour, through a transitional collective form based on deferred emotional satisfaction and group pride, towards increasing individualization of spectator violence. This occurs due to the shifting objects of emotional involvement. As the functional specialization of the various roles in the game is partially accepted by spectators, the referee becomes the target of anger. Violence becomes more individualized as 'mutually expected self-restraint' proceeds within the context of relative state pacification beyond the field of play and the formation of a less volatile habitus. We use Elias's figurational perspective on violence over the microinteractional approach of Randall Collins, but support Collins' emphasis on state legitimacy.