[csaa-forum] RE: wanting to be effluent

[Jean Burgess]

Thinking about the uproar over Ricki Lee's departure from
Australian Idol as opposed to the deafening silence after the
election, and Stephen Coleman's work on audience engagement
with Big Brother in comparison to big "p" Politics, I wonder
if "consumption" is an explanatory enough concept; relatedly,
it seems that both we and the two big parties are
misrecognizing the majority of Australian people's modes of
enacting citizenship.  

---- Original message ----
>Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:40:46 +1300
>From: "Ian Stuart" <istuart at eit.ac.nz>  
>Subject: RE: [csaa-forum] RE: wanting to be effluent  
>To: <csaa-forum at lists.cdu.edu.au>
>
>Kia ora Sally
>
>The neo-lineral discourse of the past 20 years, especially in New
>Zealand,  has constructed people as "consumers"  rather than
citizens. 
>We became "consumers" of the health system, ratrher than
people, we
>became "consumers" of the education system, etc etc ...  
>
>Is it any wonder that "consumer" has become the prime
identity position
>of people within our society?
>
>Ian Stuart
>
>>>> Sally.Scott at curtin.edu.au 12/10/2004 6:16:57 p.m. >>>
>What a defensive barrage has been creative by allusions to
Freedom
>Furniture
>and fondue. Interestingly, for what it says about the
discources of
>cultural
>studies, I was using the list of aspirational accoutrements
as symbols
>of
>consumerism rather than class. That is, Australians,
irrespective of
>suburbs, are more interested in what they can buy and when,
rather
>than
>issues like education and health reform, refugees or
workplace equity.
>Are
>we consuming ourselves into an apathetic torpor? What
significance does
>this
>have for both the political process and the future of the
Left (as
>distinct
>from the Labor party)? (I understand my assumption here is
that the
>Left are
>less concerned with a consumer economy)
>
>There is a wonderful doco doing the rounds about the big
corporates and
>the
>many ways in which they are driving consumption - out of this all
>power
>leads to them. Where is our Left in this packet of Crispies?
>
>Sally
>
>
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