The B-Side of Capitalism

One of the most striking features of the history of capitalism is the formation of consumer societies across the globe. In embryonic form from around 1870 and more fully after 1945, market societies have witnessed an unprecedented expansion in the scale and scope of consumer expenditure. This development has given rise to two rival perspectives. The first is the progress thesis, according to which consumer society brings material prosperity and expands people’s opportunities to lead a good life. The second is the deviation thesis, which holds that the emphasis on growing material wealth ultimately hinders individuals’ capacity to make progress in other dimensions of the good life, such as interpersonal relationships and the cultivation of existential meaning. Alongside these two opposing views, a third stance must also be considered—one that rejects both by denying the significance of consumer society as an object of study altogether. The history of economic thought offers a vital lens through which to examine the tensions and synergies among different views of consumer society. In this book, we focus on the last 250 years, from the time of Adam Smith to the present. Our approach is influenced by the work of Albert Hirschman and Joseph Schumpeter. We take inspiration from Hirschman’s use of ideal types as a starting point for identifying intellectual genealogies and their points of interaction. This includes the possibility of discovering “synthesis views”, which in the particular case of consumer society would be in line with the analysis provided by today’s historians. From Schumpeter, we take an interest in exploring the relationships economics maintains with other social sciences and the humanities, as well as a preference for long-term periods in the reconstruction of the history of economic thought.