This book examines commodity consumption both as an ongoing problem for capital and a complex mediator of the post-Cold War political economy. Comor assesses consumption as a core but contradictory nodal point in contemporary world (dis)order developments arguing that capitalist consumption facilitates efforts to rule through consent.

'Consumption and the Globalization Project is a compelling work of scholarship that probes the contemporary world of global communication. Whether reviewing the history of consumption in the West, the emerging global consumer society, or the burgeoning consumption practices in developing countries like India and China, this book is the long-awaited international studies synthesis of political economy and cultural studies.' - Robert E. Babe, Jean Monty-BCE Chair, University of Western Ontario, Canada

'Comor deepens our understanding of critical international political economy that historicizes the institutions of capitalism by scrutinizing its everyday practices, in this case 'shopping'. In lively, clear, and passionate terms, the book makes us question the profound implications of capitalist consumption for the origins and consequences of globalization.' - J. P. Singh, Associate Professor, Georgetown University and Vice President of the Policy Studies Organization, USA

'Comor provides an excellent analysis of globalization as an unfolding project of patterns, tendencies and conceptual systems, shaped by powerful interests with the institution of consumption at its core.' - Global Media and Communication

Autorentext

EDWARD A. COMOR is Associate Professor and the Rogers Chair in Journalism and New Information Technology, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Inhalt
Introduction Power, Hegemony and the Institution of Consumption The Birth of Capitalist Consumption Global Civil Society or Global Consumer Society? 'Developing' Political Economies and Global Consumer Society Neo-Imperialism, Consumption and the Crisis of Time Conclusion