Material Culture in Europe and China, 1400–1800 : The Rise of Consumerism

This book reinterprets the rise of consumerism in terms of interaction between Europe and China 1400-1800. In particular, it examines the intellectual foundations of consumerism in food, dress, shelter, utilities, information and symbolism. It highlights consumerism as an expression of both rationality and freedom and indicates the constructive role it has played in the formation of the modern world. Particular use is made of comparisons between developments in Europe and China to differentiate both.

Consumerism is increasingly recognized as a key factor in the modern world. The global economy, it has been said, is driven as much by taste as technology. Yet consumerism has seldom been studied as a global overlay or incipient world institution. Adshead argues that consumerism began in an interaction between Europe and China during the Great Discoveries. A comparison of its subsequent development in both west and east highlights both the unity and the diversity of consumerism. What are presented here are less the details of consumption than the patterns of it, and the reasons, conscious and unconscious, for them.

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A broad overview of food, dress, shelter, utilities, information and commodity symbolism which argues that consumerism began in an interaction between Europe and China during the Great Discoveries. A comparison of its subsequent development in both west and east highlights both the unity and diversity of consumerism, as well as patterns of consumption and the reasons for them. The study demonstrates that consumerism must be appreciated as a phenomenon of the mind before its current constructive role in the material world can be understood. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Consumerism is increasingly recognized as a key factor in the modern world. The global economy, it has been said, is driven as much by taste as technology. Yet consumerism has seldom been studied as a global overlay or incipient world institution. Often criticized as mere materialism or greed, its intellectual aspects in human rationality and choice have been generally neglected. This book seeks to remedy these oversights in a broad overview of food, dress, shelter, utilities, information and commodity symbolism in Europe and China between 1400 and 1800. Adshead argues that consumerism began in an interaction between Europe and China during the Great Discoveries. A comparison of its subsequent development in both west and east highlights both the unity and diversity of consumerism. What are presented here are less the details of consumption than the patterns of it, and the reasons, conscious and unconscious, for them Front Matter....Pages i-ix Material Culture....Pages 1-30 Consumerism and Food....Pages 31-66 Consumerism and Dress....Pages 67-101 Consumerism and Shelter....Pages 102-137 Consumerism and Utilities....Pages 138-171 Consumerism and Information....Pages 172-206 Consumerism and Symbolism....Pages 207-244 Back Matter....Pages 245-279