Commodification and consciousness: An initial study

Abstract

Critical theory has focused on the theme of the commodification of leisure. Leisure is defined as a market-mediated instrument of control that binds workers to an alienated production process. The evidence offered by proponents of the critique is mostly indirect and often mixed. In an exploratory study, interviews with 44 adults examine the relationship of consumption and purchasing things to favourite activities, travel, and ‘good times’ as well as shopping as leisure. In general, consumption is found to be instrumental to activity engagement and social dimensions for most leisure. Privatization is proposed as an alternative model for contemporary leisure styles.