O "cidadão hedonista": diálogos sobre consumo e cidadania na sociedade contemporânea

Abstract

This paper aims to understand the challenges that hyperconsumerism poses for participatory citizenship in Brazilian society from the perspective of theories that seek to understand the implications of the key role played by consumption in contemporary society. The inspiration for this study has been government policies that have encouraged the acquiring of bank accounts and the promotion of easier access to credit as well as the creation of income distribution plans, and their potential impact on participatory citizenship. In methodological terms, this paper is a theoretical essay. In terms of its results, it points out that the creation of a hedonistic consumer culture in our society may lead to the emphasizing of individualism at the expense of collective demands. That is, public policies implemented during this period may have indirectly, as one of their consequences, stimulated citizenship by inclusion through consumption, which is regarded as an unequal, depoliticizing, and alienating construction of citizenship. Therefore, while social inclusion through consumption may minimize some of the social inequalities present in this country, it may also lead to the confusing of participatory citizenship with mere monetary inclusion in the consumer market. This form of inclusion may contribute to the diminishing of the differences between the social classes through consumption, but it also frequently just provides these people with the illusion of being in a higher class and that they can enjoy the benefits that this class has to offer.