Dd131_Discuss_the_Role_of_the_Seduced_and_Repressed_for_Understanding_the_Place_of_Consumption_in_Contemporary_Consumer_Society.

It can very easily be argued that a defining feature of the UK High Street is consumption, and the ability of the individual to participate in it. According to Zygmunt Bauman, the capacity of the population to consume can be separated into two groups – the seduced and the repressed (Bauman, as cited in Taylor et al, 2009). The Seduced are those who are able to participate fully in society, those who have the means to express themselves, or the individuals who have enough money or talent to be fully-effective consumers. They are seen as valuable members of society with a positive identity. However, this does not account for the entire population: those not able to participate to the same degree are people Bauman calls Repressed. These would be people who have a low or limited income, the chronically ill, migrants who have just arrived, and the physically disabled. Simply, from Bauman’s point of view, maintaining and indeed establishing status within society today – defining an individual as ‘seduced’ - requires money and the ability to spend it. However, this is not to imply that membership to either of these groups a permanent thing – a person’s circumstances can change: an unemployed person can find a job; a person with a lot of disposable income can find they have to take a pay-cut. The capacity of each individual to consume will change. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the definition of consumption can be said to be ‘the amount of goods, services, materials, or energy purchased and used’. For someone who has just found a job, their ability to consume would increase and they would become a more valued member of society. The reverse would be true of the opposite individual – they would find themselves less able to participate in society as fully as they had been able to before. Ultimately, this individual would feel the decrease of their sense of belonging and acceptance within society. It is very easy to see from this that, as it was in industrial times, our present consumer society isn’t equal. In industrial times, it would only be the very rich who would fit into the role of an effective consumer – it would be only those with land or factory-owners who could consider themselves efficient consumers: simply, it would be only the very rich who would have enough money to spend on things beyond the basic necessities of life. So while it may be that conspicuous consumption was limited to the very rich, it was still evident that Britain was beginning to become a consumer society, even in the 1800’s. This is further seen by the introduction of the department store in 1860: ‘...extending the idea of luxury to a wide range of consumers ...environment where shoppers could engage in consumption as if it were a seductive, imaginary fantasy world of abundance and availability.’ (Taylor et al, 2009). The concept of Conspicuous Consumption was first noted by Thorstein Veblen in his 1899 text, ‘Theory Of The Leisure Class’. (Veblen, as cited in Taylor, 2009, pg 31). At the time Veblen wrote, he observed people around him consuming certain things to ‘show them off’ to the society around them: mainly, that they were successful and had enough money to spend on expensive, luxurious items. These items were a way of displaying their status and standing within society. At that time, people did this because they wanted to express their social standing. However, as the department store became more popular, there was a shift in focus – people cared less about their standing in society – instead, they began to care about what their conspicuous consumption said to the outside world about their personality and individuality: ‘...people are preoccupied, not with class, but with personal taste and individuality.’ (Taylor et al, 2009). Today, even though people do the same thing, their motivation is different: people show what they have and that they are successful – to fit in: ‘...because they want to fit in, impress their friends, and be accepted into social networks where they feel they ought to belong.’ (Taylor et al, 2009). While it might be easy to separate most people into one of the two groups, either ‘seduced’ or ‘repressed’, Bauman’s definitions do not consider many things – weather the ‘seduced’ can see through the manipulation, for instance. The terms are almost deliberately too general, leaving room for interpretation and questions or criticism. Can the person who is considered ‘repressed’ participate in society more in other ways' For instance, if they don’t own a car – and therefore aren’t able to visit retail parks to do their weekly shop – does it mean they can’t visit their smaller local grocery store, be it Tesco Metro or Sainsbury’s Local, places they wouldn’t ordinarily need a car to get to' Or, put another way in Chapter One, ‘...those he calls repressed might be able to create space to consume in ways that they find satisfying & inclusive.’ (Taylor et al, 2009) There is also the idea that with the introduction of more supermarkets, the repressed individual is given more of an option to consume - and therefore participate - more fully in society. However, it could then be argued that the introduction of large supermarkets – who, due to their size & market power, are able to keep their prices down – is pushing smaller businesses to the sidelines of the high street. It is perhaps due to the ‘power’ of the four large retailers – Asda, Sainsburys, Tesco’s & Morrisons – who take almost three out of every four pounds spent in the UK (Taylor et al, 2009) – that people who Bauman considers to be ‘seduced’ would take their business elsewhere: namely, to farmers markets and small local shops. The prices may be higher but what is being bought at these stores isn’t necessarily fresh fruit or bread – it could be something as simple as a choice not to give the big four supermarkets their business, the offer of an alternative lifestyle, or it could be something as far-reaching as concern for the environment. Environmental concern is something that has undoubtedly come to the forefront of public awareness – statistics provided by Defra in 2007 show that there was a 28 per cent increase in waste per person between 1983-84 and 2006-07. This can be said to have been caused by the increased affluence of the average household – between the years of 1971 & 2006, disposable household income (after tax) increased by 150 per cent (Taylor et al, 2009). With the increase of disposable income and, indeed, disposable items, came the environmental concern. As mentioned in Chapter 3, ‘...people in the more affluent countries are consuming (including wasting) at a rate that is environmentally unsustainable, thus putting at risk the ability of the planet’s eco-system to continue ...’ (Taylor et al, 2009). Consequently, the rate of recycling increased by 31 per cent between the years of 1983/84 & 2006/07 (Taylor et al, 2009). The terms of ‘seduced’ and ‘repressed’ provided by Bauman are obviously ambiguous. There is the assumption that people will have money and will spend it according to their own desires: there is no mention of rent and food bills Similarly, there is no space for the idea that the seduced may be able to see past all the ‘smoke & mirrors’ designed to make them part with their hard-earned cash. And with the rise of the supermarkets, even the role of the repressed can be questioned: supermarkets are able to sell things below market price and therefore offer the repressed individual more choice. The terms chosen by Bauman are flexible, designed to make people think: this is something at which they succeed.