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"The young Baudrillard at his best... a sociological study of the society of consumption of the finest order, this text continues to shed light on the subject and object of consumption, around which contemporary societies are organized."
- Douglas Kellner, University of California, Los AngelesJean Baudrillard's classic text was one of the first to focus on the process and meaning of consumption in contemporary culture. Originally published in 1970, the book makes a vital contribution to current debates on consumption.
The book includes Baudrillard's most organized discussion of mass media culture, the meaning of leisure, and anomie in affluent society. A chapter on the body demonstrates Baudrillard's extraordinary prescience for flagging vital subjects in contemporary culture long before others.
This English translation begins with an introductory essay by George Ritzer.
List of contents
THE FORMAL LITURGY OF THE OBJECT
Preface - George Ritzer
The Miraculous Status of Consumption
The Vicious Circle of Growth
THE THEORY OF CONSUMPTION
The Social Logic of Consumption
Towards a Theory of Consumption
Personalization or the Smallest Marginal Difference (SMD)
MASS MEDIA, SEX AND LEISURE
Mass-Media Culture
The Finest Consumer Object
The Body
The Drama of Leisure or the Impossibility of Wasting One's Time
The Mystique of Solicitude
Anomie in the Affluent Society
CONCLUSION
On Contemporary Alienation or the End of the Pact with the Devil
About the author
Jean Baudrillard is the author of Symbolic Exchange and Death (1993), and most recently, The Perfect Crime (1997)
