The Consumption of Mass

Ideas of mass dominate twentieth century thought. Mass has been core to its triumphs and complicit in the darkest hours. Alongside a repulsion to mass - genocide, bureaucracy and the crowd - lies an unceasing consumption. The icons of progress, democracy and civilization are all mandated by the globalization of wealth, the rise of popular culture and mass access to information. Yet mass remains the least examined idea in the sociological canon. Indeed, its analysis seems all but abandoned today. The status of mass as antinomy to individuality is made even more vacuous by postmodernity’s celebration of the individual as host to a mass of signs. This volume sets out to reverse the neglect. Arguing that mass is key to understanding the materialization of social relations, the collection opens up contemporary thinking about identity, choice and values. With new contributions by Zygmunt Bauman, Robert Cooper and Dane Rose, these twelve innovative papers draw together debates on social theory, community, materiality and consumption.