History of Political Consumerism

P olitical consumerism is not a new phenomenon. Scholars of history know intuitively that issues of consumption—particularly food supply and prices—lie behind all revolutions. Yet the role of consumption in politics has not traditionally been an important focus for the social sciences. Recently more scholars have begun to study it historically. Some of them even consider consumption as the vanguard of history. 1 Their research shows how women, ethnic groups, civil society associations, and states have used consumption as a tool for change. With the help of previous research, this chapter sketches the political contours and historical impact of consumerism. The research cited is mainly American. Information on political consumerism in other countries and particularly Sweden has been collected to complement the American findings. Nevertheless, much more research is needed for a complete history of political consumerism. The chapter is an initial attempt to compile, juxtapose, and draw conclusions about the virtues, values, and action involved in political consumerist events, the relevance of consumerist activities for people in their private and public lives, and the role that consumer choice plays in politics. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.