Theorizing rightist anti-consumption

Abstract

Although a large number of conceptual and empirical works on anti-consumption can be found in the marketing literature, the majority of these studies describe progressive reasons against consumption and pay little attention to rightist arguments. Building on multidisciplinary literatures, this article identifies three rightist ideological groups that are likely to engage in anti-consumption: moderate conservatives, the radical right and welfare chauvinists. We theorize rightist anti-consumption in relation to three tensions (global–national, novel–traditional, individual–communitarian), discuss the implications for marketing theory and identify possible avenues for further research. Consumer research should investigate political ideology as a dimension of anti-consumption, with particular attention paid to rightist reasons against consumption.