A Consumerist Citizenship Regime

Abstract

The contested nature of consumption, consumerism, the consumer and the customer runs through the debate in the UK around public service reform. To explore Labour’s citizenship regime, it is necessary to clarify some of these ambiguities. This chapter considers the diverse definitions of the consumer and consumerism in order to develop the criteria of a consumerist citizenship regime. The section below begins by discussing the relationship between the citizen and the consumer, highlighting the tendency in literature to contrast one with the other. The chapter then focuses on definitions of the consumer, arguing that the multiple meanings of the term need to be made explicit if consumerisation is to be studied. It goes on to set out the criteria of con-sumerism and to discuss how to compare New Labour’s public service reforms against a consumerist citizenship regime.