With the advent of liquid modernity the society of producers is transformedinto a society of consumers. In this new consumer society individuals becomesimultane... » 

With the advent of liquid modernity the society of producers is transformedinto a society of consumers. In this new consumer society individuals becomesimultaneously the promoters of commodities and the commodities they promote.They are at one and the same time the merchandise and the marketer the goodsand the travelling salespeople. They all inhabit the same social space that iscustomarily described by the term the market. The test they need to pass inorder to acquire the social prizes they covet requires them to recastthemselves as products capable of drawing attention to themselves. This subtleand pervasive transformation of consumers into commodities is the mostimportant feature of the society of consumers. It is the hidden truth thedeepest and most closely guarded secret of the consumer society in which wenow live. In this new book Zygmunt Bauman examines the impact of consumeristattitudes and patterns of conduct on various apparently unconnected aspects ofsocial life politics and democracy social divisions and stratificationcommunities and partnerships identity building the production and use ofknowledge and value preferences. The invasion and colonization of the web ofhuman relations by the worldviews and behavioural patterns inspired and shapedby commodity markets and the sources of resentment dissent and occasionalresistance to the occupying forces are the central themes of this brilliantnew book by one of the worlds most original and insightful social thinkers. «