Ethics of Consumption or Ladies on the Lot

Ethics of Consumption: The Good Life, Justice, and Global Stewardship, Vol. 107

Author: David A Crocker

Scholars in diverse fields now agree on the importance of investigating the impact of consumption practices on the global environment, quality of life, and international justice. In this comprehensive collection of essays, most of which appear for the first time, eminent scholars from many disciplines—philosophy, economics, sociology, political science, demography, theology, history, and social psychology—examine the causes, nature, and consequences of present-day consumption patterns in the United States and throughout the world. Specifically, the essays evaluate the impact of consumption practices on our own lives, our institutions, other people, and the environment. The contributors give explicit attention to the principles relevant for a consumption ethic, as well as to the policies and practices that such an ethic permits or requires. These engaging, jargon-free essays frame the problem of consumption in a variety of ways, challenging readers to see the issue from new perspectives. For scholars and students from across the disciplines, as well as for environmental and consumer activists, this volume will serve as the touchstone for discussions of consumption and global stewardship.

Author Biography: David A. Crocker is a senior research scholar at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy and the School of Public Affairs at the University of Maryland. He is a founder and current president of the International Development Ethics Association. Toby Linden was a research assistant at the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy and is currently an educational consultant.

Table of Contents:

	Preface
	Acknowledgments
	Introduction	1
1	Consumption: Value Added, Physical Transformation, and Welfare	19
2	Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics	28
3	Reply to Mark Sagoff's "Carrying Capacity and Ecological Economics"	53
4	Limits to Consumption and Economic Growth: The Middle Ground	63
5	Food, Feed, and Land	69
6	The Case Against the Consumption of Grain-Fed Meat	95
7	The Political Economy of Consumption	113
8	A New Economic Critique of Consumer Society	131
9	Consuming Goods and the Good of Consuming	139
10	Consuming Because Others Consume	155
11	Consumer Expenditures and the Growth of Need-Required Income	176
12	Alternatives to the Consumer Society	198
13	The Road Not Taken: Friendship, Consumerism, and Happiness	218
14	Delectable Materialism: Second Thoughts on Consumer Culture	249
15	Consumption As Culture: A Desert Example	269
16	The Living Standard	287
17	The Good As Discipline, the Good As Freedom	312
18	Living at a High Economic Standard: A Functionings Analysis	342
19	Consumption, Well-Being, and Capability	366
20	"The Earth Is the Lord's and the Fullness Thereof": Jewish Perspectives on Consumption	391
21	The Ethics of Consumption: A Roman Catholic View	403
22	On the Subversive Virtue: Frugality	416
23	Natural Resource Consumption: North and South	437
24	Consumption and Population	476
25	A Global Resources Dividend	501
26	Consumption, Appropriation, and Stewardship	537
27	Consumption As a Topic for the North-South Dialogue	552
	Index of Names	561
	Index of Subjects	565
	About the Contributors	581

Look this: To Begin the World Anew or The Last Undercover

Ladies on the Lot: Women, Car Sales, and the Pursuit of the American Dream

Author: Helene M Lawson

In this unique and lively ethnography of women who sell cars, sociologist Helene Lawson and the ladies on the lot take readers behind the scenes of one of the last bastions of a predominantly male workplace: the car dealership. Linking the women s own stories within the broader framework of gender and occupation, Lawson presents an engaging and important case study on the impact of gender differences and behavior in the workplace. In doing so, Ladies on the Lot makes an original contribution to the field and will be of interest for a wide variety of courses, including gender and occupations, the sociology of work, the sociology of women, and various courses in women s studies and qualitative methods.

What People Are Saying

Patricia A. Adler
Contributing to the growing literature on how women cross the gender divide and struggle for survival in traditional male trades, this occupational study offers insights into the ordeals women sales agents encounter on the automobile lots across America. Lawson's typologies are rich and descriptive, probing many different facets of women's car sales careers, including navigating the selling floor, relating with colleagues and customers, and negotiating the contract. Anyone who has ever experienced the onerous task of purchasing a car will be enlightened by this behind-the-scenes account of the process. Students of gender and work and occupations will find it a delightful read.
—(Patricia A. Adler, University of Colorado )

E Doyle. McCarthy
Lawson's Ladies on the Lot is an example of the finest work being done in qualitative social science today. Her interviews and fieldwork succeed in making these women come alive as they tell us their stories and draw us into their lives of struggles and dreams. This is a wonderful book to teach with, for it shows us how culture, class, and gender are played out in the lives of ordinary people and what it costs women to pursue their dreams of making it in America today. This study is a rare and insightful look at many of the changes that came upon American women and men in the decade 1988 to 1999!
—(E. Doyle McCarthy, Fordham University )