This book examines commodity consumption both as an ongoing problem for capital and a complex mediator of the post-Cold War political economy. Comor assesses consumption as a core but contradictory nodal point in contemporary world (dis)order developments arguing that capitalist consumption facilitates efforts to rule through consent.

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Reviews

'Consumption and the Globalization Project is a compelling work of scholarship that probes the contemporary world of global communication. Whether reviewing the history of consumption in the West, the emerging global consumer society, or the burgeoning consumption practices in developing countries like India and China, this book is the long-awaited international studies synthesis of political economy and cultural studies.' - Robert E. Babe, Jean Monty-BCE Chair, University of Western Ontario, Canada

'Comor deepens our understanding of critical international political economy that historicizes the institutions of capitalism by scrutinizing its everyday practices, in this case 'shopping'. In lively, clear, and passionate terms, the book makes us question the profound implications of capitalist consumption for the origins and consequences of globalization.' - J. P. Singh, Associate Professor, Georgetown University and Vice President of the Policy Studies Organization, USA

'Comor provides an excellent analysis of globalization as an unfolding project of patterns, tendencies and conceptual systems, shaped by powerful interests with the institution of consumption at its core.' - Global Media and Communication

Authors and Affiliations

University of Western Ontario, Canada

Edward A. Comor

About the author

EDWARD A. COMOR is Associate Professor and the Rogers Chair in Journalism and New Information Technology, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Bibliographic Information

Book Title: Consumption and the Globalization Project
Book Subtitle: International Hegemony and the Annihilation of Time
Authors: Edward A. Comor
Series Title: International Political Economy Series
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230582996
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan London
eBook Packages: Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies Collection, Political Science and International Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited 2008
Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-230-52224-4Published: 29 May 2008
Softcover ISBN: 978-1-349-35695-9Published: 01 January 2008
eBook ISBN: 978-0-230-58299-6Published: 29 May 2008
Series ISSN: 2662-2483
Series E-ISSN: 2662-2491
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XIII, 211
Topics: International Relations, Cultural and Media Studies, general, Sociology of Culture, International Political Economy, Political Science, Globalization

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Table of contents (7 chapters)

Front Matter

Introduction

Power, Hegemony and the Institution of Consumption

The Birth of Capitalist Consumption

Global Civil Society or Global Consumer Society?

‘Developing’ Political Economies and Global Consumer Society

Neo-Imperialism, Consumption and the Crisis of Time

Conclusion

Back Matter

About this book