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Consumer rights: a co‐optation of the contemporary consumer movement

Consumer rights: a co‐optation of the contemporary consumer movement Purpose – This paper aims to examine the relationship between the development of consumer rights and the emergence of the contemporary consumer movement. Rethinking the contemporary consumer movement as a new social movement (NSM) enables a closer examination of the actors, opponents and goals of the movement, and how governments and other political institutions responded by conceptualising and developing a set of “consumer rights”. Design/methodology/approach – The lens of NSM theory is used to examine the historical development of, and relationship between, consumer rights and the contemporary consumer movement. Findings – As a NSM, the goal of the contemporary consumer movement is to bring about ideological change. However, this paper argues that the development of “consumer rights” can be read as an attempt by oppositional forces to co‐opt the goals of the movement, thereby neutralising the threat of the movement and negating the opportunity for radical ideological change. Identifying that co‐optation can occur not only through the actors, but also via the “totality” or goals of a movement, broadens our understanding of how NSMs decline or are institutionalised. Originality/value – This paper offers a critical interpretation of the origins and purpose of “consumer rights”. It suggests that rather than being read as a success of the contemporary consumer movement, consumer rights actually represent a co‐optation of the movement, which served to placate consumer activists while actually maintaining the very structures of advanced market capitalism and consumer culture the movement sought to destabilise. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Historical Research in Marketing Emerald Publishing

Consumer rights: a co‐optation of the contemporary consumer movement

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2013 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1755-750X
DOI
10.1108/17557501311293370
Publisher site
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Abstract

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the relationship between the development of consumer rights and the emergence of the contemporary consumer movement. Rethinking the contemporary consumer movement as a new social movement (NSM) enables a closer examination of the actors, opponents and goals of the movement, and how governments and other political institutions responded by conceptualising and developing a set of “consumer rights”. Design/methodology/approach – The lens of NSM theory is used to examine the historical development of, and relationship between, consumer rights and the contemporary consumer movement. Findings – As a NSM, the goal of the contemporary consumer movement is to bring about ideological change. However, this paper argues that the development of “consumer rights” can be read as an attempt by oppositional forces to co‐opt the goals of the movement, thereby neutralising the threat of the movement and negating the opportunity for radical ideological change. Identifying that co‐optation can occur not only through the actors, but also via the “totality” or goals of a movement, broadens our understanding of how NSMs decline or are institutionalised. Originality/value – This paper offers a critical interpretation of the origins and purpose of “consumer rights”. It suggests that rather than being read as a success of the contemporary consumer movement, consumer rights actually represent a co‐optation of the movement, which served to placate consumer activists while actually maintaining the very structures of advanced market capitalism and consumer culture the movement sought to destabilise.

Journal

Journal of Historical Research in Marketing – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jan 25, 2013

Keywords: Consumer rights history; New social movements; Co‐optation; Activism; Marketing history

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