Introduction: Power, politics, and (un)sustainable consumption

Abstract

This chapter explores the diverse and diffuse ways that politics and power have been conceptualised in sustainable consumption research, particularly as a growing number of researchers and practitioners recognise the limits of traditionally dominant approaches to sustainable consumption. It examines the ways in which sustainable consumption research, policy, and practice have engaged with ideas of power and politics to date, including a discussion of research that tended or tends to overlook these factors. The chapter argues that both the study and the practice of sustainable consumption deserve greater critical scrutiny. It identifies three key trends in writing in this area: an attention to political economy; an interest in governmentality and the notion of the subject; and an attention to the politics of identity and difference. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.