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Sam
Binkley newsletter designer Emerson University Dan
Cook George Ritzer Mike
Ryan Statement
of Purpose Contact: |
George Ritzer This essay is from a talk given as part of the “Crisis and Constradictions of Consumption” conference in Las Vegas in August 2011. There is, at least from my point of view, no better place to discuss the crisis and contradictions in consumption in the US, especially in its cathedrals of consumption, than in Las Vegas, the city devoted to, and built on, consumption and defined globally by its iconic cathedrals of consumption; the major casino-hotels on the Strip. It is here that we witnessed what was arguably the greatest consumer-driven expansion in the US in the run up to the Great Recession and, as a result of the latter, perhaps the greatest economic setbacks. Unemployment in Las Vegas rose as high as 15% and is still over 12%. New construction is virtually non-existent. The foreclosure rate, while slightly down from 2009, remains the highest, and by a wide margin, of all the metropolitan areas in the US. |
Crisis in Consumption OR American Capitalism: A Sociological Perspective on the Consumer-Led Recession Robert D. Manning Responsible Debt Relief Institute R.Manning@ResponsibleDebtRelief.org With the onset of the fifth year of the Great Recession, it is surprising how muted has been the voice and public policy influence of Sociology in general and sociologists in particular. For students of the Sociology of Consumption, there is an enormous opportunity to explore new theoretical and empirical approaches to the greatest economic crisis of the post-World War Two period. Like the examination of the social problems precipitated by Hurricane Katrina, sociologists could play an enormous role in shaping new generational expectations (challenge ethos of economic mobility), politically progressive mobilizations (Occupy Wall Street), environmentally sustainable policies (Green Energy), future patterns of reduced inequality (income tax reform), cultural mores (socially responsible consumption, greater savings), and prudent public policy (consumer protections, marketing regulations). This monumental project includes a wide-range of challenges at a multitude of levels including academic, intellectual, national, community, cultural, behavioral, and legal/statutory discourses. The current failure of the dominant economic paradigm offers an historic opportunity for Sociology to “Seize the Moment” before other perspectives and approaches gain greater “brand” recognition and are “consumed” with greater gusto and accompanying PR spin. Competing Narratives of Current Societal Crisis The most striking feature of the current economic crisis and attendant public policy discourse is the lack of “Sociological Imagination.” |
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