Culture, identity and alternatives to the consumer culture

Abstract

This article explores questions of identity and culture in relation to the present systemic crises that confront human life on the planet, problematizing the pursuit of economic growth and consumerist culture. It uses the concept of Ideology-Action-Structure complexes to understand the satu rating nature of social, political and economic domination, and then explores interventions in these complexes, which all have characteristics of informal education, to promote cultural growth, create new settings and establish a counter-hegemonic ideology and alliance. It is suggested that by joining up fragmented local interventions and movements, there is hope that society's way of life can be shifted to one where cultural enrichment supports a less resource-exploitative economic and cultural model. Keywords: culture; consumerism; economy; ideology-action-structure complexes; crises. RESUMOEste artigo explora questões da identidade e cultura no tocante às atuais crises sistemáticas que desafiam a vida humana neste planeta. Problematiza-se a intensa busca pelo crescimento econômico e cultura do consumo. Utiliza--se o conceito de complexos da Ideologia-Ação-Estrutura para entender a natureza de caráter saturante da dominação social, política e econômica. Assim, exploram-se as intervenções nestes complexos, que assumem características da educação informal para promover o crescimento cultural, criando cenários novos que objetivam estabelecer uma ideologia e aliança contra-hegemônica. Sugere-se que, ao se conseguir unir intervenções e movimentos ainda fragmentados e localizados, pode existir a esperança que poderia transformar o modo de vida da sociedade para as pessoas em que o enriquecimento cultural apoiaria um modelo econômico e cultural que explorasse menos os recursos ambientais.

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