The Future of Consumption

It is often said that we live in a consumer society. This does not just mean that we buy things regularly but also that consumption is an integral part of our daily lives. We have learned to think of ourselves as consumers, rather than citizens, in a variety of situations. We are not only consumers of clothes and food but also of healthcare, wellness, and education. And we expect to be treated as such, safe in the knowledge that we can take our custom elsewhere if we are not. We increasingly exercise our political preferences as consumers, actively choosing to buy from producers whose views align with our own on topics such as environmental sustainability, human rights, privacy, and personal autonomy, and boycotting those who do not.