Self-interest, Altruism and the Consumer
framing the consumer in consumption ethics
Ethics in Consumption:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives
seminar series
Terry Newholm
October 2015
mostly self-interested
greed and care
Philosopher, Philip Cafaro (2005, p. 153):
Business
Strategist, Timharm
Devinney
(2010,
p. 4):
“... we [consumers]
nature
[...b]ecause
we
are ignorant
[...,] selfish
“the
ethical consumer
is [...,]
littlegluttonous,
more than a myth
arrogant,
and of
apathetic.”
that
beliesgreedy
the reality
individual behaviour”
Geographers, Clive Barnett et al. (2011, p. 201):
see people (as consumers) as exhibiting
“existing dispositions of care, concern and
solidarity” that can be mobilised through ‘new’
social movements.
theory and empiricism
Economist, Gary Becker (1978, p. 282):
“Self-interest is assumed to dominate all other
motives.”
Anthropologist, Daniel Miller (2009, p. 300):
with few exceptions, sees his participants
exhibiting “love and care in families” and
occasionally caring for people beyond.
differing conclusions
Psychologist, John Thøgersen (1999):
We must engage peoples' altruism to ensure
they continue their good (consumer) practices.
Philosopher, Kate Soper (2008):
We must engage peoples' self-interest in an
utopian environment otherwise they will not
respond.
theory and empiricism
Within what context should we understand these
seemingly considerable differences?
Socio-political: the differing views of human nature are the
result of competing political ideas?
Methodological: theoretical and survey studies presuppose
self-interested representations, ethnographic studies tend
towards representations of care?
Disciplines: are they merely disciplinary differences?
?
Evolutionary psychology: human nature is so complex
that it allows different accounts in different contexts?
inferring understandings
Carol Scott’s (1977), ‘Modifying socially-conscious
behavior: the foot-in-the-door technique’.
Carolyn Strong’s (1997), ‘The problems of translating
fair trade principles into consumer purchase
behaviour’.
Marylyn Carrigan et al.’s (2004), ‘An interpretive study
for the potential for the ethical consumption within
the older market’.
Terrence Witkowski’s (2005), ‘Fair trade marketing:
an alternative system for globalization and
development’.
inferring understandings
What potential is there in human nature for
changed behaviour (via social marketing)?
Economist, Gary Becker (date, p. 5):
“preferences are assumed
not to change substantially
over time.”
?
localised moral economies
Marketing theorist, Andreas Chatzidakis (2012 p. 509):
“[S]pace/place acts as a destination and as a form of
supportive environment or ‘social capital’ that allows similar
initiatives and movements to emerge.”
Marketing theorist, Caroline Bekin et al. (2005 p. 242):
“The findings suggest that for some the choice to simplify
and join communities seems to have reinstated the
enjoyment of life. This, however, has not come without
trade-offs, with mobility remaining one of the biggest
challenges to the attainment of environmental goals.”
social engineering
Historian, Edward Thompson (1971):
traditional 'moral economy' in the UK was changed to a
market economy based on self-interest; 1780 to 1832.
Buddhist Theologen, Richard Payne (2010, p. 50-51):
reports that in Thailand, Buddhist teachings on contentment
were suppressed in the 1960s during the country’s transition
to a global consumer economy.
Sociologist, Don Slater (1997, p. 10):
during the 1980s the Thatcher administration in the UK,
legitimised “unabashedly self-interest” consumption.
social engineering
Historian, Nayanjot Lahiri (2015):
Aśoka in ancient India issued 33 edicts towards
a more compassionate life.
Buddhist Theologen, Matthieu Ricard, (2015, p. 663679):
Tells us that a number of locations are adopting 'new
criteria of prosperity' that include measures of
cooperation, voluntary work that might surrogate for
altruism: Bhutan, Costa Rica, Brazil, Japan and
Alberta.
social engineering
Neuro Scientist, Olga Klimecki et al. (2014):
brain-plasticity in empathy and compassion.
Compassion
positive states of
warmth and affiliation
Kate Soper
eudaimonia
Empathy
negative states of
distress and pain
engineering morality
Is altruism fixed and in short supply (as some
economists believe) or variable when
fostered or discouraged?
How should we understand human nature and
behaviour during these times of 'social
engineering'?
To what extent does consumption change during
periods of social engineering?
.
?
theorising humanity
Philosopher, Mary Midgley (1996, see argument pp. 97-99)
The Ethical Primate:
In her critique of behaviourism she asks how “would
environmental pressure so affect Skinner, or his
opponents, as to produce passages of prose like this
without any mediating processes in their minds?”
T h e M i d g l e y Te s t 1
Can the proposed theory of human behaviour
account for the author's behaviour?
theorising humanity
Philosopher, Mary Midgley (1996, p. 3):
“Our moral freedom is not something biologically bizarre. No
denial of the reality of ethics, nothing offensive to its dignity,
follows from accepting our evolutionary origin. To the
contrary, human moral capacities are just what could be
expected to evolve when a highly social creature becomes
intelligent enough to become aware of profound conflicts
among its motives.”
The Midgley
2
Te s t
Is the proposed theory of human behaviour
consistent with an evolved primate?
theorising humanity
Philosopher, Adam Smith (2006[1759], p. 1 and p. 19):
“How selfish so ever man may be supposed, there are
evidently some principles in his nature, which
interests him in the fortune of others, and render
their happiness necessary to him.”
“[H]ow disagreeable does he appear to be, whose
hard and obdurate heart feels for himself only, but is
altogether insensible to the happiness or misery of
others!”
theorising humanity
Philosopher, Adam Smith (2006[1759], p. 60 and p. 20):
“[W]e may generally expect a considerable degree of
virtue: and, fortunately for the good morals of
society, these are the situations of by far the greater
part of [hu]mankind.”
“[T]o restrain our selfish, and to indulge our
benevolent, affections, constitutes the perfection of
human nature.”
theorising humanity
The consumption ethics research has
developed sufficiently to be more reflexive.
We should be more explicit about our understanding
of human nature.
We should not subscribe to theories that fail the
Midgley tests.
This area is necessarily interdisciplinary and we
should collaborate to research and publish.
!
references
Barnett, C., Cloke, P., Clarke, N., & Malpass, A. (2011). Globalizing Responsibility: the Political Rationalities of Ethical Consumption. Oxford:
Wiley-Blackwell.
Becker, G. (1978). The Economic Approach to Human Behaviour. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Bekin, C., Carrigan, M. and Szmigin, I. (2005). 'Defying Marketing Sovereignty: Voluntary Simplicity at New Consumption Communities,'
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal, 8(4), pp.413-429.
Cafaro, P. (2005). Gluttony, Arrogance, Greed and Apathy: An Exploration of Environmental Vice. In R. Sandler, & P. Cafaro, Environmental Virtue
Ethics (pp. 135-158). Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield.
Carrigan, M. (2004). ‘An interpretive study for the potential for the ethical consumption within the older market’.
Chatzidakis, A. (2012).
Klimecki,O., Leiberg, S., Ricard, M., & Singer, T. (2014). ‘Differential pattern of functional brain plasticity after compassion and empathy training’
Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience 9, pp. 873-879.
Lahiri, N. (2015). Ashoka in Ancient India. Cambridge, Mas: Harvard University Press.
Midgley, M. (1996). The Ethical Primate. London: Routledge.
Miller, D. (2009). The Comfort of Things. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Payne, R. (2010). How Much is Enough? Somerville, MA: Wisdom.
Ricard, M. (2015). Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World. London: Atlantic Books.
Scott, C. (1977). ‘Modifying socially-conscious behavior: the foot-in-the-door technique’. Journal of Consumer Research 4(3), pp. 156-164.
Slater, D. (1997). Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge: Polity.
Smith, A. (2006[1759]). The Theory of Moral Sentiments, Mineola, NY: Dover Philosophical Classics.
Soper, K. (2008). ‘Alternative Hedonism, Cultural Theory and the Role of Aesthetic Revisioning’, Cultural Studies,22(5), pp. 567-587.
Strong, C. (1997). ‘The problems of translating fair trade principles into consumer purchase behaviour’. Marketing Intelligence & Planning, 15
(1), pp. 32-37.
Thøgersen, J. (1999). ‘The Ethical Consumer. Moral Norms and Packaging Choice’ Journal of Consumer Policy. 22(4), pp. 439-460.
Thompson, E. (1971). The Making of the English Working Class. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Witkowski, T. (2005). ‘Fair trade marketing: an alternative system for globalization and development’. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice,
13, pp. 22-33.
Self-interest, Altruism and the Consumer
framing the consumer in consumption ethics
Ethics in Consumption:
Interdisciplinary Perspectives
seminar series
Terry Newholm
October 2015