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Against Naive Materialism: Culture, Consumption and the Causes of Inequality

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  • Rosenbaum, Eckehard F

Abstract

Economic orthodoxy is narrowly materialistic in that it largely neglects the cultural significance of commodities. Taking as its starting point A. K. Sen's work on capabilities, the paper examines modern consumer theory and argues that consumption is an inherently complex activity that requires considerable knowledge and expertise and which cannot be adequately understood from an individualist point of view. It is argued that interpersonal comparisons are consequently more complicated than is suggested in Sen's work on capabilities, and that an inquiry into the cultural aspects of consumption encourages a reappraisal of the role of preferences and sheds light on the deeper causes of inequality. Copyright 1999 by Oxford University Press.

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  • Rosenbaum, Eckehard F, 1999. "Against Naive Materialism: Culture, Consumption and the Causes of Inequality," Cambridge Journal of Economics, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 23(3), pages 317-336, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:cambje:v:23:y:1999:i:3:p:317-36
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    Cited by:

    1. Jabłoński Łukasz, 2019. "Inequality in Economics: The Concept, Perception, Types, and Driving Forces," Journal of Management and Business Administration. Central Europe, Sciendo, vol. 27(1), pages 17-43, March.
    2. William A. Jackson, 2015. "Distributive Justice With and Without Culture," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(6), pages 673-688, December.
    3. Richters, Oliver & Siemoneit, Andreas, 2019. "Growth imperatives: Substantiating a contested concept," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 126-137.
    4. Oliver Richters & Andreas Siemoneit, 2018. "The contested concept of growth imperatives: Technology and the fear of stagnation," Working Papers V-414-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Nov 2018.

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