Narrative Worlds of Frugal Consumers: Unmasking Romanticized Spirituality to Reveal Responsibilization and De-politicization

Journal of Business Ethics 161 (1):149-168 (2020)
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Abstract

Extant literature romanticizes frugality as a lifestyle trait that helps in the spiritual evolution of consumers, which in turn enables them in overcoming the negative consequences of materialism and over-consumption. Extant studies have not paid attention to cultural contexts, such as caste and gender, which could outline the non-volitional enactment of frugality in societies such as India. We draw from the work of the political philosopher Alain Badiou to argue that frugality embodies non-volitional subjectivities and is linked to processes of responsibilization and de-politicization. We engage with layered narratives from three story-sites and conceptualize frugality as a socio-political subjectivity that disenfranchises consumers and normalizes inequality. Our study provides evidence of how consumers are made to adopt frugality to conform to political conservatism and unequal orders of caste and gender.

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References found in this work

Being and event.Alain Badiou - 2005 - New York: Continuum. Edited by Oliver Feltham.
The Use of Bodies.Giorgio Agamben - 2015 - Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. Edited by Adam Kotsko.
The political technology of individuals.Michel Foucault - 1988 - In Michel Foucault, Luther H. Martin, Huck Gutman & Patrick H. Hutton (eds.), Technologies of the self: a seminar with Michel Foucault. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press. pp. 145--162.

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