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Riots, Restraint and the New Cultural Politics of Wanting

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  • Tracey Jensen

Abstract

In the aftermath of the 2011 English riots, many political elites, journalists and public commentators obscured the material, sociological and economic factors which contributed to the unrest and instead connected the riots to a problematic kind of ‘wanting’ – wanting the wrong kinds of things, in a manner and degree that was constructed as illegitimate and vulgar in a time of austerity – and thus constructing the riots as a problem of excessive greed, rampant materialism and social decay. This article reflects upon how the riots played a key role in the political production of a new cultural politics of wanting, whereby wanting is made problematic, suspect, a sign of material fixation and of irresponsible consumerism. It reflects upon this cultural politics within the current austerity regime which manifests through a celebration and romanticisation of post-War restraint and re-animation of thrift practices and frugal living.

Suggested Citation

  • Tracey Jensen, 2013. "Riots, Restraint and the New Cultural Politics of Wanting," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(4), pages 36-47, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:socres:v:18:y:2013:i:4:p:36-47
    DOI: 10.5153/sro.3158
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laura Harvey & Jessica Ringrose & Rosalind Gill, 2013. "Swagger, Ratings and Masculinity: Theorising the Circulation of Social and Cultural Value in Teenage Boys’ Digital Peer Networks," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(4), pages 57-67, November.
    2. Imogen Tyler, 2013. "The Riots of the Underclass?: Stigmatisation, Mediation and the Government of Poverty and Disadvantage in Neoliberal Britain," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(4), pages 25-35, November.
    3. Jennie Bristow, 2013. "Reporting the Riots: Parenting Culture and the Problem of Authority in Media Analysis of August 2011," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 18(4), pages 100-110, November.
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