ESCP Europe

This book provides original and probing insights into the new forms and settings of consumer culture. Ranging from hyper-real Disney worlds to the local shopping mall, the author takes us on a tour of the settings and structures that generate "hyper-consumption". He explains the contradictory imperatives of rationalization and enchantment that drive this spectacular and simulated world and identifies the means by which these "cathedrals of consumption" are continuously re-enchanted, thus remaining capable of luring us again into new purchases. This book analyses the cultural and economic importance of consumption in our society and its effects on social relations.