Post‐materialism’s “silent revolution” in consumer research

Abstract

While the idea of post‐materialism is more than 20 years old, consumer researchers have given it little attention. This paper engages in an interdisciplinary exploration of this important cultural phenomenon. The Protestant work ethic, with its emphasis on ever‐increasing levels of production, contributed to the rise of the consumption culture and the legitimation of the market society. It appears that the very premise which facilitates the market society – specialization and the production of consumption – also paves the way for a post‐materialist revolution. This paper advocates a macro, more humanistic, and socially relevant perspective of consumer research.