Consumerism, self-creation and prospects for a new ecological consciousness

Abstract

The shift from production-based to consumption-based societies has seen consumption transformed from a means of meeting material needs to a method of creating a personal identity. Citizens of affluent countries increasingly seek a sense of self from their consumption activity instead of their workplace, class or community. Environmental appeals to change consumption behaviour implicitly ask people not merely to change their behaviour but to change their sense of personal identity. This can be threatening and makes more difficult the emergence of a new ecological consciousness, although the phenomenon of downshifting provides some grounds for optimism.