The Consumer Revolution, 1650–1800

A bold new interpretation of 'consumer revolution' in 18th-century Europe, examining globalization and the politics of consumption in the age of Revolution.

Michael Kwass (Author)

9780521139595, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 3 February 2022

262 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.41 kg

'Kwass's The Consumer Revolution brilliantly charts the remarkable economic, cultural, and political consequences of new consumer practices in this era of skyrocketing global trade, from the rise of calicoes, sugar, or tobacco to the shifting politics of fashion in the age of revolutions. Comprehensive, imaginative, and a pleasure to read.' William Sewell, University of Chicago

The production, acquisition, and use of consumer goods defines our daily lives, and yet consumerism is seen as increasingly controversial. Movements for sustainable and ethical consumerism are gaining momentum alongside an awareness of how our choices in the marketplace can affect public issues. How did we get here? This volume advances a bold new interpretation of the 'consumer revolution' of the eighteenth century, when European elites, middling classes, and even certain labourers purchased unprecedented quantities of clothing, household goods, and colonial products. Michael Kwass adopts a global perspective that incorporates the expansion of European empires, the development of world trade, and the rise of plantation slavery in the Americas. Kwass analyses the emergence of Enlightenment material cultures, contentious philosophical debates on the morality of consumption, and new forms of consumer activism to offer a fresh interpretation of the politics of consumption in the age of abolitionism and the Atlantic Revolutions.

Introduction
1. Consumer revolution
2. The globalization of European consumption
3. Going shopping
4. The cultural meanings of consumption
5. Consuming enlightenment
6. The luxury debate
7. The politics of consumption in the age of revolution
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], European history [HBJD]