Full Paper
Polanyiand Political Consumption: A Modern Theoretical Applicationofthe Double Movement
Phillip M. Frank, Missouri Western State University, USA
There has been an increase in literature on a growing field recently termed, “Political Consumption” (Baumann et al., 2015). Political consumption is defined as the choice or avoidance of products or brands with the aim of changing ethically or politically objectionable institutional or market practices (Shah et al., 2007). The following paper posits a theoretical model for the conceptualization of political consumption. Specifically, the author presents Karl Polanyi and his “Double Movement” as the underpinning theoretical conceptualization of Political consumption. The author also proposes empirical research to test such a theoretical model.
Introduction
There has been an increase in literature on a growing field recently termed, “Political Consumption” (Baumann et al. 2015). Political consumption is defined as the choice or avoidance of products or brands with the aim of changing ethically or politically objectionable institutional or market practices (Shah et al. 2007). Political consumption has been demonstrated to be indicative of a modern change in the civic engagement of citizens (specifically among younger citizens). Political consumption has been shown to be present in various fields including textile (e.g. anti-sweatshops), automobiles (e.g. hybrids and electric), and food (e.g. fair-trade, local), to name a few. In their recent article on the subject,Shyon Bauman and colleagues (2015) denote that the crux of this discourse is that modern consumers view their consumption habits as a means to affect social, political, or environmental change. Political consumption can come in various forms but generally consist of either boycotting items; where consumers abstain from the purchasing or usage of certain products or brands; or buycotting; where consumers actively consume or promote the consumption of certain brands or products.
The majority of recent literature in the subject has focused on the implications of political consumerism. Specifically, there are proponents that argue that political consumption is illustrative of a morphing of civic engagement’sfunction in modern society. Researchers here (see Bauman, Engman and Johnston 2015) argue that this new form of social engagement is illustrative of the expansion of political activity and supplemental to other ‘traditional’ forms of civic engagement. Others (see Johnston 2008; Szasz 2007) arguethe growth of political consumption to be in direct conflict with traditional forms of civic engagement. In their recent study, Bauman and colleagues found that political consumption has correlated with other forms of civic engagement such as voting, volunteering, and donating to charitable organizations.
While there has been considerable empirical evidence into the existence of this consumption habit, there remains a dearth in literature addressing the theoretical justification for such a shift in behavior. While differences exist in the nature and implications of political consumption, there is no denying that the practice does occurs. In an attempt to answer recent calls by researchers (Atkinson 2015), this article posits a theoreticalmodel that both explains this modern shift as well as proposes current research that tests such model.
Political Consumption
Defined as, “consumer behaviors that are shaped by a desire to express and support political and ethical perspectives” (Shah et al.2007, p. 217), political consumption has received increased research emphasis in the past decades (Bauman et al., 2015). The core tenant of the political consumption concept is that in the modern marketspace consumers’ desires to affect the social, political and environmental discourses in society are reflective in consumption decisions. The belief holding that by selecting responsible options or avoidance of problematic alternatives consumers can impart change(SassatelliandDaviolo 2010).
Political consumption has been viewed both positively as well as negatively. More optimistic claims argue that this illustrates a new effective mechanism through which consumers can enact positive social engagement. In counter to these opinions many researchers argue that this concept will lead to the rejection and avoidance of traditional forms of political engagement (e.g. voting, protesting, volunteering, etc.). In their recent article on the subject, Baumann and colleagues (2015) found that individuals who engaged in political consumption were also more active in political or social activities. These findings support the notion of young citizens’ new form of social engagement as one consisting of a network of social organizations and modes for civil expression. Wellman’s (2002) idea of networked individualism proposed that in contemporary society, connections are made between people directly, not between spaces. “In networked societies, boundaries are permeable, interactions are with diverse others, linkages switch between multiple networks, and hierarchies are both flatter and more complexly structured” (p.2). Public-spirited consumer actions offer a viable route for social change (Shah et al. 2007).
Young people appear to be especially engaged in political consumption. In her recent writing on this subject, Lucy Atkinson posits that political consumerism denotes the post-modern state of citizenship for younger persons. “Political consumption may represent a new a growing form of alternative political engagement, one that aligns better with contemporary norms of citizenship emphasizing direct action, networked publics, and loose institutional affiliations (p. 23). In a 2002 survey when asked if they had ever, “not bought something because of the conditions under which it was made,” 51.4 percent of young Americans between the ages of 15 – 25 said “yes” and a majority stated they had done so in the past year. The same survey reported that 43.7 percent of young Americans said “yes” they “had bought a certain product because they liked or agreed with the values of the company that made it” (Olander 2003).
In the specific area of youth political and civic activism, a number of researchers have suggested that generational shifts should be understood through the lens of change rather than decline (Atkinson 2015; Dalton 2009). These authors argue for a new kind of citizenship, comprised of highly customized forms of identity politics anchored in lifestyles and consumer choice. Today, young people are more likely to be value driven, individualistic, self-actualized citizens rather than the dutiful citizens of the past. If the hallmark of the dutiful citizen are the obligations to make an informed vote, use mainstream news media sources to follow political issues and develop autonomous opinions, the self-actualizedcitizen is characterized by a belief in engagement as an expression of personal values.
Empirical tests of these arguments are few and inconsistently collected. While there is some evidence that younger citizens are less likely to take part in traditional political activities, they are just as likely as older cohorts to undertake political consumerist actions (Stolle, HoogheandMicheletti 2005). The current paper looks to present a theoretical justification for this shift in political engagement, one founded in 1944 and one that still holds significant influence in the field today.
Polanyi and the Double Movement Theory
In his 1944 work The Great Transformation,Karl Polanyi stipulated that the modern market environment had been greatly impacted from the evolution of self-regulated market economies. While neoclassical economists were arguing that economic history can be viewed as moving towards increased economic efficiency which more or less culminates in the development of capitalism, Polanyi argued that there is no such directionality to economic history. He postulates that one cannot understand economics without understanding the social structures within which the economy operates. He argued that for the first time, self-regulated market systems disassociated natural endowments such as land and labor that were conceptualized as separate from the cultural systems in which they resided. According to Polanyi, markets had been extended into all arenas of cultural life, creating fictitious commodities for land, labor and money with the effect of reducing all of social existence to a single motivation; the desire for gain (ChamplinandKnoedler 2004).
It is important to note that Polanyi was not necessarily advocating for a rejection from markets, as he argued that markets are necessary institutions and that complex societies cannot get along without them. “No society could, naturally, live for any length of time unless it possessed an economy of some sort; but previous to our time no economy has ever existed that, even in principle, was controlled by markets” (Polanyi, 1944, p. 45). However, Polanyi does disagree with the economically motivated man as described by Adam Smith. While Smith and others were advocatingfor thenatural tendency of man to follow market fundamentals, Polanyi advocated that man’s pursuit in market exchanges was socially motivated. “The outstanding discovery of recent historical and anthropological research is that man’s economy, as a rule, is submerged in his social relationships. He does not act so as to safeguard his individual interest in the possession of material goods; he acts as to safeguard his social standing, his social claims, his social assets” (p. 48).
Polanyi distinguishes between markets and the market systems which he conceptualized as the integration of all markets into a single national or international economy. This self-regulated market system, from Polanyi, results in two “movements;” first, the commodification of life into a market and second, a counterculture or a movement geared towards the safeguarding of society by social forces that seek to protect the people, their land and their culture (Baum 1996). Polanyi argued that there were two systems of institutions were in direct competition with one other. The embedded economy was conceptualized as consisting of natural institutions inherent in a society such as community, state, church, industry etc. Polanyi also stipulates that a disembedded economy consists of the adoption and progressive implementation of market principles governing a self-regulated market system. This movement was said to have began in the 19th Century with the creation and implementation of the market economy and market society in Britain. Polanyi argues that with the establishment and systematic dissemination of market principles led these two systems into conflict. Polanyi argues that as the market economy gains roots in our daily lives, a “counter-movement” emerges; which meant a reversal of the process and a re-introduction of social control into the market economy, is established. This is what Polanyi came to term, the Double Movement.”
Political Consumption and Polanyi’s Double Movement
In his The Great Transformation, Polanyi discusses how political systems may be impacted by self-regulating market systems. Essentially, Polanyi believes that a true market society is incompatible with true democracy due to the embedded nature of politics to community that is inherent to the conceptualization of a true democracy. Using examples from Britain and the United States, Polanyi presents historical examples of the conflicts that the two institutions encountered. Essentially, Polanyi argued that politics are inherently an embedded institution with the community and that as such, it would continuously be entering into conflict with the elf-regulated market system as it extended its influence into activities of citizens’ daily lives originally associated with political systems. It referred to this phenomenon as an example of a Double Movement.
As Polanyi saw it, the Double Movement meant the clash of two opposed and incompatible principles. On one hand, the principles guiding market economy, on the other, the desire of the society to impose its values on the process of production and distribution. Polanyi argued that this disembedded economy was infiltrating various natural institutions of the embedded economy such as the political system. In their 2004 article, Dell Champlin and Janet Knoedler argue that the decline in democratic participation and the increased power of the private sector in the political process was characteristic of a disembedded economy.
As denoted earlier, political consumption is defined as utilizing consumer behaviors in a means to illustrate civic beliefs, which can thus be perceived as self-regulated markets furthering their influence to encapsulate civic lives. The subsequent question becomes if this is a behavior driven by the self-regulated market or if this is a reflection to the already prevalent influence that markets have on civic life? Thus the following study will try to establish that political consumption is reflective to self-regulated market’s expansion and thus illustrates a Double Movement for today’s world.
Current Study
During a two week period in September, 2015an interpretative research study was conducted among young persons to ascertain the opinions of young adults (aged 18-23) about the political process, candidates, and the marketing of such candidates. In addition, the participants were also asked various questions about their consumption practices and whether it related to their ethical values and beliefs. A total of 37 young adults were selected and took part in 9 total focus groups over the two week period. All participants were students at a regional private institution of higher learning residing in Southeastern United States. Of the 37 participants, 25 percent were freshmen in college, 50 percent were sophomores, 12.5 percent juniors, and 12.5 percent seniors. Various academic majors were represented such as Business, Theater, Sports Management, English, and Political Science. Participants were equally split among Republican and Democrat parties’ affiliation. Each focus group lasted between 1 and 2 hours. Audio recordings were collected.
Focus groups began with grand general questions (Frey and Fontana 1991) that asked informants to describe themselves and how they see themselves as politically involved. Questions then followed a loosely structured format that allowed the conversation to flow more easily. Focus groups emphasized two main topics. First, how participants believe the current state of political process was in relation to the perceived role of the individual. Second, how did participants become political consumers?Within each of these topic areas, informants were encouraged to think about what aspects of their upbringing or socialization influenced their perceptive or behaviors (Atkinson 2015).
After the conclusion of each focus group, transcriptions were developed by the researcher and research assistants. Transcriptions were double-checked for accuracy by external researchers not affiliated with the research project. Transcriptions and field notes were used by the researcher to develop emerging themes from discussions as well as to guide future discourses.Once all focus groups were completed, the researcher analyzed the data utilizing the hermeneutic analysis technique which required an initial deep-dive into the datato elicit themes and key concepts. This process was reiterated until saturation occurred. Key findings and discussion will be presented.
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