Government of practices and market topographies: Consumption and the challenge of (ab)normality

Abstract

The omnipresence of norms on the market requires us to question their influence on consumption practices, how to study them, design them and manage them. Drawing on the work of Foucault, this article sets out to test prior research on consumption against the norm, normality and deviance. Given the political nature of (ab)normalisation, three government modes and market topographies (anthropemous, anthropophagous and mutualist) can be identified based on the primary political models that shape them (conservatism, liberalism and communism). The author concludes by challenging the role of the researcher in the politicisation of practices and emphasises the risks of failing to consider the norm and (ab)normality in consumption research.