A dialectical reflection on the emergence of the ‘citizen as consumer’ as neoliberal citizenship: The 2013 Brazilian protests

Abstract

In this article, we argue that citizenship conceived within a context of neoliberal rationality helps explain the emergence of what we term the 'citizen as consumer'. We define the citizen as consumer as someone who relates to the state and the public realms from the private perspective of consumption. We ask how this emergent neoliberal citizen is configured in peripheral countries that are regarded as exemplifying 'weak' citizenship. To respond to this question, we consider the protests that occurred in Brazil in 2013 as an empirical illustration. Our main objective is to rethink the citizen/state relationship in consumer studies, employing a dialectical analysis to understand how the better-known consumer-citizen movement, in which the consumer acts as a citizen and gives birth, under a neoliberal rationality, to a movement that somehow disrupts these roles such that the citizen starts to act as a consumer. The Brazilian protests provide insights that advance debate on the scope and limits of the hybridisation between citizens and consumers and on the transformations in the relationship between citizenship and politics.

Marking humans for consumption, whilst erasing others: Affective becomings and the workings of (dis)comfort

“…Firstly, it extends Miles’ (2012) critique of consumption studies’ “apparent reluctance to engage with the notion that ‘consumers’ of the neoliberal city bring a degree of agency to th[e] process” of the development of neoliberal cities (p. 217). This paper supports such a critique; it also supports Fontenelle and Pozzebon’s (2018) argument that the notion of the consumer encompasses idealized notions of citizenship. Yet it emphasizes how the consumer is not a neutral body – it is a specific embodiment that follows the neoliberal-colonial normativity.…”

“…However, as the protests evolved, their bodies and voices – together with many other vulnerable residents – were removed through an erasure process (Varman and Vijay, 2018). In its place, the voices of citizens-as-consumers became heard (Fontenelle and Pozzebon, 2018). The emergence of these citizens-as-consumers intertwined with the disappearance of the great majority of activists, following the splitting between legitimate and illegitimate bodies.…”

Why do crowds cause trouble? Exploring affective instability in collectivity

“…Many of the activists and collectives were part of multiple crowding instances, including the 2013 Brazilian Protests (Fontenelle and Pozzebon, 2018), which are credited with transforming the political atmosphere and landscape. The first protest was met with a violent police response that triggered popular support for the cause.…”

Cidadania e Mercado: Participação e Pertencimento Social Mediados por Interações no Mercado

“…As transformações na compreensão do conceito de cidadania também refletem a forma como o capitalismo global contemporâneo busca servir interesses políticos por meio da interconexão entre o exercício político e o consumo. Essa interconexão deixa as fronteiras entre esferas privadas do consumo e públicas do pertencimento e participação cívica no exercício político um tanto quanto nebulosa (Castelló & Miheli, 2018;Fontenelle & Pozzebon, 2018).…”

“…Observou-se que as concepções contemporânea de cidadania operam num imbricamento entre as dimensões cívica e de mercado. Contudo, enquanto a centralidade do debate acerca da cidadania no âmbito do estado e do consumo reside na forma como as lógicas de consumo passam a guiar as relações de pertencimento e participação cívica (Fontenelle & Pozzebon, 2018;Canclini, 2008, entre outros), este ensaio também discute -partir de uma visão crítica -perspectivas teóricas complementares que reforçam a narrativa de que consumidores e organizações exercem cidadania via pertencimento e participação social em relações que ocorrem exclusivamente no âmbito do mercado.…”