The Concept of Social Class in Consumer Behaviour - Essay Example

Management Affiliation Table of Contents The Concept of Social in Consumer Behaviour 3 Capital 3 Cultural & Educational Capital 4 Types of Capital 5 Social Class & Lifestyles 6 Relativism in Culture 6 Cultural Impracticality 7 Objectivity in Culture 7 Forming a Political Viewpoint 7 Status Subordination 8 Theory of Social Capital 8 Bourdieu criticized by Axel Honneth 9 Subjectivity 9 Conclusion 10 The Concept of Social Class in Consumer Behaviour Different means of production define social class but it does not define how various classes are made up as classes, nor does it share the complexity of how hierarchical statuses of capitalist societies are formed. The ownership of economic capital does not explain about the dynamism of the bourgeois society. The class of a consumer is determined by their position within the society. Numerous factors help in identifying this class, for example, educational background, job and income. These determinants create social stratification which leads to the formation of a hierarchy. In this status hierarchy a person develops his/her social class. With reference to 1960s -70s France; Pierre Bourdieu has analysed the society in great detail. He worked on how the knowledge and usage of different cultural relics have shaped over time. In addition to this he also examined how people develop certain taste for food, clothing, music and their overall lifestyle. Bourdieu also studied the uncountable struggles between various classes and the emergence of their fragmentation in today’s capitalist society. He taught people how to alter their perceptions and expectations when they are at a stage of the hierarchy and at the same time he provided options to people to compete for the class position they desire (Bourdieu, 1984). Some of the concepts explained by Bourdieu are clarified in the following section. Capital “The projection of capital on to a particular axis with an aim to create a constant, linear and homogenous series which helps in identifying the social hierarchy involves a tough operation. In doing this, various types of capital are brought down to one single standard. This theoretical phenomenon has an objective foundation; exchange rates differ according to the power relation amongst the owners of the capital (Giddens, 1994). There is a prerequisite for reducing the spaces between the capital to one dimension, however, if someone willingly converts the capital, the creation of a two-dimensional space clarifies that the importance of exchange rates. Therefore, Bourdieu has extended the phenomenon of capital on the basis of an underlying idea in which capital is converted in normal sense. Although Bourdieu has not explicitly spelled out the foundation of different types of capitals and their conversion rates; they can be deduced by further researches. Capital is capable of building a relation between two people in a particular social space, but this principle does not necessarily create an absolute order of the society, along a particular axis of subordination. In my opinion it is fair to believe that this phenomenon marks off Bourdieu’s theory of capital to a more instinctive theory of prosperity. It appears that usage of wealth and its maintenance is not a matter of enjoyment but of work and production. Cultural & Educational Capital The ability to play the game of culture is known as cultural capital, it is the capacity to recognize the references made in a novel and to determine what is quoted or rejected in the piece of art. The cultural capital is the ability to know what should be approved or disapproved, the capacity to behave appropriately and acquiring a good taste for art. It is the ability to identify the directors of movies, to cook dinner, to dress up appropriately and personal grooming. Cultural capital also the management of time and the decision that time would be spent with whom. All these manners help in identifying an individual as a cultural person, with a right direction in life and teach the ability to access certain segments and to give views on political matters (Barker, 2000). According to Bourdieu’s research, the control of cultural capital is predetermined by social origins. A bourgeois person identifies the value of an auctioned Impressionist painting and where it is supposed to be hanged in the house, similarly a boy belonging to the working class knows about the winner of the World Cup and how to eat food. Since an early age, professional experts know about the good directors, just as the girl from a working class is aware about popular actors. Therefore, cultural appreciation is reduced with modest pretension. People now express a taste which exhibits their pretension in a particular class fraction, rejecting the offensive or the socially acceptable, the tough or the fancy, all based on distinctive needs (Shaw et al., 2005). Types of Capital Despite the fact that cultural and economic capital comprises of the major axes of subordination which exists in a capitalist society, Bourdieu discusses other forms of capitals as well. For example, in social capital people need to create particular connections, to use their cultural or educational assets. Body capital which includes both inherited and adopted socially acceptable diet and physical activities also sums up to be an essential resource for social struggles. A subset of cultural capital, linguistic capital is basically the ability to speak proper language. Another type of capital is political capital which gives the ability to survive in a political environment and to get adequate amount of votes. Due to the fact that all the above mentioned capitals are a part of production of economic and social capital, no special consideration is given to them. Social Class & Lifestyles Bourdieu’s theory values the phenomenon of ‘habitus’ which is adopted from the study of Aquinas. Habitus is an innate class conditioning in which a member knows how to react to different situations without even thinking for a moment because of pre-conditioning. The person knows how to react to various cultural stimuli such as ‘not liking the vulgar’ and accepting the beautiful. The concept of habitus is actually a sensibility which is acquired over the period of life and during the upbringing of the person in different conditions (Warde, 1994). Therefore, it can be stated that whether a person is wealthy, has skills, education or family, all this becomes secondary to the habitus they adopted during their life time which under some circumstances may be at odds with the attitudes, the way body is used, linguistic abilities, peers and references are all normally associated with these conditions. Relativism in Culture Distinctions concluded that extreme relativity in cultural criticism is valued only social status, even though it is done unconsciously. The book mentions a critique of Kantian and different aesthetics which are not based on pure relativism. There are two types of stimuli for taste; connected to the pleasure of basic human needs and on the other hand it acts as an association referring to points in different conversations (Thompson, 1997). This establishes a space between the materialistic world and the social context structured through cultural references. Bourdieu further stated that all cultural criticism is based on one distinction between the two classes: the dominated and the dominant class, which begins with nature of animals compared to the culture of humans. The primary dichotomies of gender and age and that they are organized to exhibit distinct of cultural presence (Reay, 2004). For example, individuals have a competition between maturity and immaturity, against youngsters and aged and all these express the language of cultural subordination (Rafferty, 2011). Cultural Impracticality Bourdieu has openly accepted “idealism” as a good quality because he removed the means of domination. However, this is not long lasting as he shows in depth that the lifestyles of different classes are creating a virtue of needs. Each culture has their own practical approach towards consumerism and each of the consumers think at one point of time or another as to how they should live and work in their environment (Cherrier, 2005). Objectivity in Culture The novel Distinctions leaves the reader with a good feeling of objectivism, in a way that all agents of society appear as illusions. Bourdieu’s analysis shows some social arrangements which capture the form of rule active in bourgeois society (Bourdieu, 1994). However, there is a suggestion that how the people of working class adapted themselves to subordinate levels and ruled themselves out from the issues of the state-this can transform them into history (McNay, 1999). Forming a Political Viewpoint Apart from the actual argument and the usage of surveys (to determine political viewpoints) Bourdieu referred to three types of political opinions. Countries in which people are suffering force them to take part in politics. This observation is quite interesting because it provides insights as to how growing individualism and dependence upon mass media, is destructing the psyche of the middle class (Adams and Raisborough, 2010). Status Subordination According to Weber (1978) capitalist society is a result of the co-existence of two types of subordination- the class structure and the status order. In addition, it is important to use two different phenomenons to absorb the systems of subordination, and understand the interactions amongst them. In 1960s France, it was observed that women did not really cared about their physical appearance and focused only on working and to keep their men happy. This is because the jobs offered to them were already low-graded (Sayer, 2005). On the other hand, the females of the bourgeoisie dressed up, received good education and were offered high paying jobs. Leisure class lifestyle is dependent upon a certain number of factors which shapes up consumer behaviour accordingly (Veblen, 1899). Theory of Social Capital In Bourdieu’s study, there is a secondary position allotted to the social capital. People who wished to shift to the upper levels of social hierarchy and have earned the basic education and taste still required links to enter a class of higher status. As compared to this, Swartz (1997) reflects upon the culture and power in an economy and its extension into non-economic relationships. Bourdieu’s theory has contradicted the capital theory of Marx but at the same time he accepts this break and takes the study a step ahead to criticize the political economy instead of ignoring the contradiction. Bourdieu criticized by Axel Honneth Axel Honneth states that Bourdieu’s theory of cultural capital is ambiguous: at one point his researches show how different social groups develop differences in their life-styles and tastes as compared to those in subordination; on the other hand, Bourdieu has stated that social groups value social practices differently and require their intrinsic worth to be regarded, refusing other tastes and life-styles (Moon, 2003). The term capital refers to the values given to a property by the social community and is accepted by everyone. It has a quantitative in nature and unique. If differences were said to be distinct forms of capital, then the worth of their possession is that everyone regards them as valuable (Harrison, Newholm, and Shaw, 2005). Therefore, accumulation of capital is referred to as something of high value not available to many people. Similarly, the tactics of investing in something valuable that an individual already monopolizes has some what the same logic. If the society does not regard what an individual does, he or she would be poor; in other words, being a poor person means that no one in the society values what he/she does. Recognition and materialism go hand in hand here (Adams, 2006). Subjectivity The study above marks that Bourdieu is very pessimistic about the future prospects and positivity in the lives of people belonging to the working class. He believes that they are subjects of history, and observes that people who work as the spokespersons for the working class are required to the norms of the dominant class. However, on the other hand, his research and also the research conducted by Bottero (2010) on the class habitus helps in contributing manifolds to the understanding of class consciousness. Bourdieu’s clarification of the procedures of struggles within the class under the cultural domain gives instincts about the future of the struggle against capitalism. Some institutions have successfully influenced its members socially; they provide samples for good identity which grasp different aspects of life from the existential and moral to the mundanely material. However, concepts of markets and anti-traditionalisation weaken then role of socialising (Warde, 2004). Conclusion This paper discusses the major concepts of Pierre Bourdieu theory and sheds light on how a specific habitus shapes up consumer behaviour. Several severe crises of identity are faced by consumers and then they need to re-construct their own understandings again in a non- familiar environment with new identity resources. These members are not able to stay comfortable in the field of basic socialisation but are still stuck with the investments in capital. They stay in this dilemma and display inseparable nature of philosophy and utilization. These factors accordingly shape up their mind-set and they make purchases accordingly. References Adams, M. (2006). Hybridizing habitus and Reflexivity: Towards an Understanding of Contemporary Identity? Sociology, 40(3), pp. 511-528. Adams, M. & Raisborough J. (2010). Making a difference: ethical consumption and the everyday. The British Journal of Sociology, 61 (2), pp. 256-274. Barker, C. (2000). Cultural studies. Theory and practice. London: Sage. Bottero, W. (2010). Intersubjectivity and Bourdieusian Approaches to Identity. Cultural Sociology, 4 (3), pp.3-22 Bourdieu, P. (1984). 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