Three hundred years ago people made most of what they used, or got it in trade from their neighbours. Now, no one seems to make anything, and buy what need from shops. This book describes the cultural and historical process of these changes and looks at the rise of consumer society in Britain and the United States. Using aspects of anthropology and sociology to describe the importance of shopping and gift-giving in the life and in western economies, the book : traces the development of shopping and retailing practices, and the emergence of modern notions of objects and the self ; brings together a wealth of information on the history of the retail trade ; examines the reality of the distinctions between the impersonal economic sphere and personal social sphere ; offers a fully interdisciplinary study of the links forged between social groups and the commodities we buy and give.
