Political consumerism and the decline of class politics in Western Europe

Abstract

This article examines whether social class influences the likelihood of engaging in political consumerism in Western Europe. Political consumption is the intentional buying or abstention from buying (boycotting) specific products for political, ethical, or ecological reasons. The interest in analyzing political consumerism lies in substantive and theoretical reasons. First, it is a widespread but not very adequately studied form of noninstitutionalized political participation. Second, various theories claim that class is an inadequate category for explaining political behavior. According to the postmodern theory of social stratification, patterns of consumption are among the key factors that define the new status communities, thus breaking with the traditional logic of social classes. Along the same lines, individualization theory suggests that in contemporary societies, individuals are free to continuously redefine their identity and choose the lifestyle they prefer. We argue that the study of political consumption offers a particularly appropriate case for testing the empirical plausibility of the hypothesis of the 'decline of class politics'. Multilevel analysis using European Social Survey data reveals, contrary to the above-mentioned postulates, that social class strongly affects the likelihood of being one's a political consumer.

Clustering consumers who engage in boycotting: New insights into the relationship between political consumerism and institutional trust

“…The concept of political consumerism is traditionally employed in reference to the boycott or buycott of products or services undertaken by consumers (Yates 2011;Koos 2012;Wicks et al 2013;Ferrer-Fons and Fraile 2014). Ferrer-Fons and Fraile (2014, p. 467) define political consumption as Bthe intentional buying or abstention from buying (boycotting) specific products for political, ethical, or ecological reasons.^Political consumerism has been characterized as an example of new politics (Yates 2011) and its distinctive characteristic, when compared with other forms of unconventional political participation, is that market transactions are used as a way of protesting or rewarding desirable institutional behaviors (Koos 2012).…”

“…Contrary to the tendency verified in traditional political participation activities such as voting, the last decade is characterized by the spread of alternative forms of political activity (Acik 2013;Ferrer-Fons and Fraile 2014), a development that has been related with globalization and the widespread use of information and communication technologies, which have triggered lifestyle politics and a shared sense of moral obligation (Koos 2012;Acik 2013).…”

“…The most common manifestations of political consumerism include abstention from buying (boycotting) and intentional buying (buycotting) of products or services (Ferrer-Fons and Fraile 2014).…”

“Consumocracia”. El consumo político como forma de participación de la ciudadanía

“…Ferrer y Fraile (2006) estudian los determinantes sociales del consumo político en Europa occidental a través de la ESE y demuestran, como pauta general, que los ciudadanos con mayores recursos, los de mayor nivel educativo, los estudiantes, empleados, los de mediana edad y los del sector servicios son más propensos a comportarse como consumidores políticos. En 2013 y a través también de la Encuesta Social Europea realizan una investigación sobre clase social y consumo político en los países de Europa occidental, los datos demostraron que la clase social influye y mucho en la probabilidad de participar en el consumo político (Ferrer y Fraile, 2013). Por otro lado, Llopis-Goig (2011: 93) realiza un estudio sobre consumo político y cosmopolitismo, tomando como base de datos el estudio nº 2606 del CIS, en donde uno de los principales hallazgos es que "el consumo político es una forma de acción a cuya génesis podría estar contribuyendo el cosmopolitismo".…”

La emergencia del "consumidor consciente": un análisis de la participación política a través de las decisiones de compra

“…La emergencia del «consumidor consciente»: un análisis de la participación política… Fraile, 2006Fraile, , 2013. Por su parte, la perspectiva temporal de las acciones recogidas en la fuente de datos en la que se basa este artículo da un paso más al posibilitar, además, el análisis de las trayectorias de los consumidores conscientes con una conducta más estable a lo largo del tiempo; es decir, los que manifiestan un comportamiento que se ha convertido en un hábito de consumo, ya que las acciones de boycott o buycott están referidas tanto a los últimos doce meses como a un pasado más lejano.…”