The Sociology Book

234

T H E R O M A N T I C E T H I C

P R O M O T E S T H E S P I R I T

O F C O N S U M E R I S M

COLIN CAMPBELL (1940– )

W

hy have Western Europe

and the US developed

consumer cultures?

British sociologist Colin Campbell,

emeritus professor at the University

of York, discusses this question in

his important study, The Romantic

Ethic and the Spirit of Modern

Consumerism (1987), intended as

a sequel to Max Weber’s similarly

named and hugely influential

The Protestant Ethic and the

Spirit of Capitalism (1904 – 05).

Weber claims that the values

of self-discipline and hard work,

which lie at the heart of modern

These values

are inculcated into the

middle class, who seek

authenticity through

the purchase of

consumer goods...

...but the novelty of

purchased goods soon

wears off and a desire

for new products

takes over.

The “Romantic ethic”

emphasizes intuition and

the pursuit of pleasure

and novel experience.

The Romantic

ethic promotes

the spirit of

consumerism.

IN CONTEXT

FOCUS

The Romantic ethic

KEY DATES

1780 –1850 The Romantic

movement in Europe reacts

to the overly rationalistic,

abstract ideals of the Age

of Enlightenment.

1899 In The Theory of the

Leisure Class, US social and

economic thinker Thorstein

Veblen suggests that

consumption is driven by

groups “emulating” one

another to gain social status.

1904–05 Max Weber identifies

a connection between the

“Protestant work ethic”

and the rise of capitalism.

Present Scholars such as US

sociologist Daniel Bell and

Italian sociologist Roberta

Sassatelli draw heavily on

Colin Campbell’s ideas in

their studies of consumption.