Consumption and Its Consequences

Prologue
Chapter One - What's Wrong with Consumption?
Chapter Two - A Consumer Society
Chapter Three - Why We Shop
Chapter Four - Denim Blue Jeans
Chapter Five - It's The Stupid Economy
Chapter Six - How Not To Save A Planet

Daniel Miller is Professor of Material Culture at University College London.

'Makes me wish fervently that it was Miller who was regularly invited to offer critical commentary on materialism, consumerism or climate change policy on BBC Radio 4 and not the usual public intellectuals who do little more than echo received wisdom ... His insights here deserve a wider hearing.' Times Higher Education book of the week 'There are some curious moments in this book but, at its core, there's a very important observation - people aren't mindless drones who buy whatever the advertising agencies tell them to buy. Sometimes we act that way because we want to keep up with the Joneses but, from time to time, the objects we put in our shopping baskets reflect our ethical and social values and play a part in sustaining our most cherished relationships.' Geographical book of the month 'This engagingly written book addresses some of the central dilemmas of contemporary global society: how to sustain a developed-world, consumerist lifestyle in the face of wrenching economic shifts and accelerating climate change. The topic is urgent, the prescriptions for change coming from academic and policy leaders, paltry. Miller makes the conversation more interesting, more lively, and more honest about the limits of the theoretical perspectives mustered thus far to address these issues.' Bill Maurer, Professor of Anthropology and Law, University of California, Irvine

"Makes me wish fervently that it was Miller who was regularly invited to offer critical commentary on materialism, consumerism or climate change policy on BBC Radio 4 and not the usual public intellectuals who do little more than echo received wisdom ... His insights here deserve a wider hearing."
Times Higher Education book of the week
 
"A profound contribution to debates about the limits, contradictions and alternatives to contemporary styles of living, working and provisioning."
Area
 
"A tremendously valuable contribution to establishing the understanding of consumption as one of the central interests of contemporary anthropological studies."
Anthropological Notebooks
 
"There are some curious moments in this book but, at its core, there's a very important observation - people aren't mindless drones who buy whatever the advertising agencies tell them to buy. Sometimes we act that way because we want to keep up with the Joneses but, from time to time, the objects we put in our shopping baskets reflect our ethical and social values and play a part in sustaining our most cherished relationships."
Geographical book of the month
 
"This engagingly written book addresses some of the central dilemmas of contemporary global society: how to sustain a developed-world, consumerist lifestyle in the face of wrenching economic shifts and accelerating climate change. The topic is urgent, the prescriptions for change coming from academic and policy leaders, paltry. Miller makes the conversation more interesting, more lively, and more honest about the limits of the theoretical perspectives mustered thus far to address these issues."
Bill Maurer, Professor of Anthropology and Law, University of California, Irvine