Political Consumerism: A Form of Everyday Political Engagement?

In this paper, I discuss political consumerism in the food sector as a form of political participation rooted in everyday practices. Political sociologists analyze transformations in political participations in relation to small-scale democracy (everyday individual engagement), consumerism, creative participation, and on-line activism. Often we analyze how citizens practice these alternative forms of engagement. Yet, we fail to reflect on their relationship to specific conceptions of democracy and citizenship – as normative ideals that shape individual actions. As modes of political participation multiply, it is important to discuss the political underpinnings of different types of political actions. In this paper, I ask: What are the political goals of different forms of engagements? What kind of social and political transformations are citizens who engage in them pursuing? Who are they targeting? What are their conceptions of democracy and citizenship? In this paper, I review the literature on political consumerism in order to establish a typology of the different forms that it takes and to propose an agenda for future research. In so doing, I hope to open the debate about the links between alternative modes of political action and conceptions of citizenship and democracy.