The Role of Normative Political Ideology in Consumer Behavior

Journal of Consumer Research · 2004 · Volume 31 · Issue 3

Abstract

This study of African-American consumers living in a large racially segregated midwestern city adds to extant theory on ideology in consumer behavior by considering the role of normative political ideology in provisioning. The specific roles of traditional black liberal and black nationalist political ideologies are discussed. We conclude that normative political ideology is central to understanding shopping as an expression of social and political relations between households confronting attenuated access to goods and services, ranging from housing to food, in a setting stratified by gender, race, and class. Beyond the specifics of this demographic group and setting, we suggest that contemporary consumption in the United States is a primary arena in which political ideology is expressed and constructed.

Keywords

Sociological Theories/Analysis, Household Decision Making, Depth/Long Interviews, Ethnography

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