Collecting as a form of demonstrative behavior

Abstract

In the XXI century, under the effects of the globalization factors, mass consumerism culture and demonstrative consumption, there formed a new type of culturological way of thinking, which prompted new conceptual approaches towards the understanding of the collecting phenomenon. The basic function of collecting (preservation of the heritage of the past) is replaced by a demonstrative collecting, in which the value (both, material and spiritual) is substituted by the symbolic perception of demands of an individual, and the main motivating factor for the collector becomes consists in the desire of establish a certain level of prestige and effort to be a part of an elite social circle or demonstrate their individuality. These changes represent an objective and natural process, characteristic to the period of change in the paradigm of civilizational development, namely the transition from traditional industrial society towards a postindustrial one. This article gives detailed overview to the presented structural transformations of the forms of collecting, brought about by the development in cultural trends of consumer society.