With its wry portrayal of a shallow, materialistic 'leisure class' obsessed by clothes, cars, consumer goods and climbing the social ladder, this withering sati

A collection of essays examining cultures of consumption on the African continent From early department stores in Cape Town to gendered histories of sartorial s

If wars are costly and risky to both sides, why do they occur? Why engage in an arms race when it’s clear that increasing one’s own defense expenditures wil

Mason (consumer theory, U. of Salford, UK) looks at the development of conspicuous consumption from its origins as the indulgence of a privileged few to its pos

How the leisure class has been replaced by a new elite, and how their consumer habits affect us all In today’s world, the leisure class has been replaced by a