Mass and Niche Production, Bourdieu's Theory of Consumer Taste Formation - Essay Example

Introduction The great transformation which took place in the West is not just associated with the industrial revolution but also consumption went through a great change. It is also called consumer revolution because it brought forward deep changes in the way the overall relationship of society changed with the level of consumption. This revolution not only resulted into the overall changes in the tastes and preferences but also brought about the fundamental shift in the modern world. It has redefined the way family, space, time as well as individual and has resulted into depiction of different power structures within the society. Various studies have clearly outlined the relationship between cultural differences, power and consumption and how various groups within the society relate in this regard. It has been suggested that it is important to understand the overall political economy of social relations between food production, distribution as well as its consumption. This understanding signifies as to how different groups in society struggle for cultural power. The post Fordist era especially in the second half of 20th century has brought about more changes in the tastes and preferences and their overall relationship within different social groups. Consumption from the perspective of food especially is based upon different processes which need to be viewed individually in order to understand as to how its consumption affects the overall sociology of different groups in a given society. This paper will argue and discuss as to how the tastes and practices of different classes are meaningful because they are involved in the struggles for cultural power between classes. Consumer Culture Over the period of time, there has been a growing tendency to produce more and more and make more goods available for production and sale. There has been a manifold increase in the production of goods and services in developed countries each year and this trend seem to continue for long. Increasingly however, our drive for more is believed to be fulfilled by the markets and it is also because of this reason that various States have actually engaged into the marketization of the services which were previously considered as public in nature.( Anderson, 1991), A new and unique consumer culture is being emerging because consumption has become one of the key activities of human life after watching TV. There also has been an increase in what is called that expansion of shopping as the leisure pleasure with people spending more and more time in driving pleasure through shopping. An increase in the proliferation of the spaces and various platforms for the shopping has actually increased the tendency to shop more. The availability of more shopping outlets, both offline as well as online has made it relatively possible for the people to engage into the process of shopping just for the pure pleasure of shopping. It has been suggested that underlying this rise in the consumer culture is the advancement in fashion, clothing, pottery and newspapers which have actually supported the development of a consumer culture. Mass Production and Niche Production Social class is defined with its relationship with the means of production however the capitalist class definition actually fail to identify the differences within the class and how status subordination however is integrated within different classes in the society. There are two important arguments which outline as to how the tastes and preferences within the society actually emerge. Firstly, it has been suggested that the industrial mass production have actually standardized the tastes and preferences of the individuals within the society whereas second argument indicates that there is more focus on the niche production of goods and services which have further individualized our tastes and preferences. The concept of standard mass consumption requires that attention should be focused upon the means of mass production. It also therefore signifies that the modes of production of goods and services actually determine our overall consumption habits and patterns. It is critical to understand that the process such as McDonaldization has actually standardized the food preferences and tastes across the nations. The homogenous preferences have actually reduced the class differences in terms of the overall tastes and preferences because across the globe, people are developing homogenous tastes and preferences which may result into reduction in the relative struggle within the society. This therefore outlines that the modernization has relatively little impact on the way tastes and preferences have actually developed over the period of time.( Ashley, 2004).  This argument is largely based upon historical explanation of the changes especially in the food preferences of various classes within the society. It has been suggested that over the period of time, the differences between the tastes and preferences of various social classes of the society has declined thus paving the way for more homogenous tastes and preferences of the groups. This argument indicates that the overall class differences may still exist in major developed societies however the overall hierarchies have diminished to a great extent paving the standardized and homogenous consumption and taste preferences. Niche production and individualized tastes and preferences however suggest that individuals tend to have highly personal choices and tastes and that post-modern mode of production have actually allowed the development of such preferences. This therefore can lead to different tastes and preferences of individuals and groups based upon their social and cultural association.( Sassatelli, 2007).  Empirical evidence also however suggests that class differences in having different choices and preferences especially for food. Studies in Britain outline that the class differences still exist in terms of having different food preferences. This difference clearly outlines the hierarchies which are still persisting in developed economies in terms of their overall preferences and choices and how they actually relate them with their social status and position within the society.( Lury, 2011).  Bourdieus Theory of Consumer Taste Formation  Bourdieu rejects the assumption that tastes and preferences are formed on individualistic basis and they are the results of the individualistic choices of the human intellect. He argues that tastes and preferences are socially constructed and that these tastes actually define the symbolic hierarchy within the society. This hierarchy is actually enforced by various classes within the society to actually enforce their distance and distinction from other classes of the society. Tastes and preferences therefore is a way through which different classes can actually distinguish themselves from other classes of the society. According to Bourdieu, Tastes and preferences therefore are weapon for classes within the society to actually distinguish powerful from weak, high and low and legitimate and illegitimate within the society. He however defines a whole range of different social actions in which the tastes and preferences can actually distinguish people from each other. These social actions include food consumption, drinks, newspapers, music, and literature and so on. It is also critical to note that Bourdieu has actually extended these social actions to the activities which have distinct aesthetics components such as clothing and perfumes to more ordinary and mundane activities such as choosing the leisure and food activities by the lower order of the society.( Bourdieu, 1984), Bourdieu suggests that consumers actually operate based upon their logic of distinction and this logic of distinction is actually embodied in the overall tastes and preferences of the individuals. The consumers’ act of distinguishing the goods actually is also an attempt to distinguish themselves and their consumption patterns actually help them to improve this distinction. Bourdieu therefore indicates that the behaviors of the people should be viewed from the perspective of the embodiments rather than other factors which are traditionally considered. His arguments are based upon assumption that the foods and tastes are actually embedded into the distinct class cultures and they are actually involved in the class struggle of power between different classes within the same society. His argument is also based upon the kind of capital a social class possesses within the society and the overall position of a social class is determined by the kind of capital possessed. He identifies economic, cultural, social and symbolic capitals which actually determine the overall position of a social class within a society and also distinguish the same from other classes of the society. However the ability of the classes to actually capitalize on these capitals largely depends upon how well they use their capital within a given historical location.( Bourdieu & Lonc 1992), Underlying this argument is the concept of Habitus which is an internalized form of class conditions and conditioning. This also indicates that the overall class is not just limited to the means of production but to the internal association of the individuals to different social groups. Tastes, according to Bourdieu actually respond to two different types of stimuli i.e. one which corresponds with the basic human needs which we have to fulfill and other is association. This refers to therefore departure from the material world and entry into social world which is characterized by the cultural references and the social universe of the dominating class. The cultural preferences of different classes within the society therefore formulate coherent systems within the society which actually attempt to unify those with same tastes and preferences and distinguish them from those who hold dissimilar tastes and preferences. As such by practical implementation of the preferences and choices, people actually classify various objects and in the process classify themselves too. This argument therefore is based upon the notion of tastes and preferences actually identifying and determining the very identity of different classes of the society. By associating, groups actually make a distinction and prove their superiority over each other within a given setting.( Bourdieu, 990), The Power Struggle The above discussion outlines two important arguments regarding whether the tastes and preferences have actually created a power struggle between the social classes or not. The standardization of food and other goods and services due to industrial mass production and globalization has actually created a critical mass of homogenous goods. The persistence of McDonald like food outlets all around the world has actually reduced the gap between the preferences of the social classes. Evidence from UK indicates that the tastes and preferences have changed over the period of time and that overall distinction is diminishing too. This diminishing in the tastes and preferences therefore suggest that upper and lower classes of the society may not have been experiencing different choices and preferences. The opposite argument however suggests that tastes and preferences are actually a way to show a cultural and class identity. Niche production has made individualization a possibility and now goods and services can be easily produced according to the exact individual requirements. This change in technology as well as how groups relate themselves with their tastes and preferences actually suggest that there is a power struggle between the classes. The first argument is based upon the empirical data and is based upon most recent data indicating that the way food has been actually standardized suggests that class power struggle may have minimized to a great length as a result of this. More standardization and industrial mass production will result into reduction in this gap and resultantly overall power struggle between the social classes may diminish. Conclusion Individual tastes and preferences are considered as important from the view point of how different social classes actually relate with each other. Paper has explored the idea of how this may result into the power struggle between different classes of the society. It has also been argued that industrial mass production have actually reduced the chances of having individualized tastes and preferences and therefore there may be no class struggle for power based upon creating distinct identifies crafter out on the basis of tastes and preferences of the social class. The overall tastes and preferences of the social classes is actually an attempt to distinguish themselves and given themselves an identity. Bourdieu’s arguments therefore outline as to how individuals can drive meanings from their actions of giving any identification or meaning to the goods and their associated tastes and preferences. Bourdieu therefore believes that this identification and association process actually creates power struggle between various social classes. References: 1. Anderson, P (1991), "The Hidden Injuries of Social Class: Implications for Consumer Research," Paper Presented At The Association For Consumer Research Conference, Chicago, Il. 2. Ashley, B. (2004). Food And Cultural Studies. London, Routledge 3. Bourdieu, P (1984), Distinction: A Social Critique Of The Judgment Of Taste. Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Ma: 4. Bourdieu, P (1990), In Other Words. Stanford University Press. Stanford, Ca: 5. Bourdieu, P And Lonc (1992), An Invitation To Reflexive Sociology. The University Of Chicago Press. Chicago: 6. Lury, C. (2011). Consumer Culture. Cambridge, Polity Press. 7. Sassatelli, R. (2007). Consumer Culture: History, Theory And Politics. Los Angeles, Sage Publications. Read More