"Consumer Society" as an object of Philosophy study: essence and social context

Abstract

The subject of the study is the characteristic of the essence of the social phenomenon "consumer society" through the prism of the views of foreign thinkers of the second half of the XX-early XXI centuries. The philosophical and socio-humanitarian theories of the "consumer society" proposed by European thinkers are considered in detail, their classification is carried out and the conceptual apparatus is characterized. The author substantiates the thesis that, representing a dynamic and self-developing system, the "consumer society" invariably finds its reflection in various, often contradictory conceptual models. These contradictions serve as the basis for the development of alternative philosophical methods and approaches to the development of modern societies and the resolution of problems related to consumption. It is shown that modern theories of "consumer society" make it possible to comprehend not only consumer behavior itself, but also the diverse problems of society fixed by this concept, such as manipulation of consciousness, identity construction, the functioning of mass communication media, the socio-cultural significance of social reality. The author analyzed the evolution of the concept of "consumption" using socio-cultural, socio-economic, socio-philosophical approaches. An attempt is being made to define terms such as "consumer society" and "consumerism" more clearly and to trace the interaction of these terms within the boundaries of socio-economic transformations taking place in the modern world. It is important to conclude that modern concepts of "consumer society" make it possible to comprehend not only consumer behavior itself, but also the variety of social problems that are fixed with the help of this concept: manipulation of consciousness, identity construction, socio-cultural significance of social reality, the functioning of mass communication media, and others.