PROSPERITY FOR ALL: CONSUMER ACTIVISM IN AN ERA OF GLOBALIZATION
Book ID/图书代码： 03360008B26974
English Summary/英文概要： The history of consumerism is about much more than just shopping. Ever since the eighteenth century, citizen-consumers have protested against the abuses of the market by boycotting products and promoting fair instead of free trade. In recent decades, consumer activism has responded to the challenges of affluence by helping to guide consumers through an increasingly complex and alien marketplace. In doing so, it has challenged the very meaning of consumer society and tackled some of the key economic, social, and political issues associated with the era of globalization.
In Prosperity for All, the first international history of consumer activism, Matthew Hilton shows that modern consumer advocacy reached the peak of its influence in the decades after World War II. Growing out of the product-testing activities of Consumer Reports and its international counterparts (including Which? in the United Kingdom, Que Choisir in France, and Test in Germany), consumerism evolved into a truly global social movement. Consumer unions, NGOs, and individual activists like Ralph Nader emerged in countries around the world-including developing countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America-concerned with creating a more equitable marketplace and articulating a politics of consumption that addressed the needs of both individuals and society as a whole. Consumer activists achieved many victories, from making cars safer to highlighting the dangers of using baby formula instead of breast milk in countries with no access to clean water.
The 1980s saw a reversal in the consumer movement’s fortunes, thanks in large part to the rise of an antiregulatory agenda both in the United States and internationally. In the process, the definition of consumerism changed, focusing more on choice than on access. As Hilton shows, this change reflects more broadly on the dilemmas we all face as consumers: Do we want more stuff and more prosperity for ourselves, or do we want others less fortunate to be able to enjoy the same opportunities and standard of living that we do? Prosperity for All makes clear that by abandoning a more idealistic vision for consumer society we reduce consumers to little more than shoppers, and we deny the vast majority of the world’s population the fruits of affluence. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 消费主义的历史远不止于购物行为。自十八世纪以来，作为公民的消费者们就通过抵制商品、倡导公平贸易而非自由贸易等方式，持续抗议市场的滥用行为。近几十年来，消费者权益运动顺应富裕时代的挑战，帮助消费者在日益复杂陌生的市场中找到方向。这一进程不仅重新定义了消费社会的本质，更直面了全球化时代所面临的经济、社会与政治核心议题。在《共同富裕》这部首部国际消费者权益运动史著作中，马修·希尔顿揭示了现代消费者权益倡导在二战后数十年间影响力达到顶峰。这种运动起源于《消费者报告》及其国际同行(英国消费者维权组织Which?、法国最大的消费协会组织‘Que Choisir“和德国的《Test》杂志)的产品检测活动，逐渐演变为一场真正全球性的社会运动。消费者联盟、非政府组织以及拉尔夫·纳德等个人活动家在全球各国——包括东南亚和拉丁美洲的发展中国家——涌现，致力于构建更公平的市场环境，并倡导兼顾个人与社会整体需求的消费政治。消费者权益倡导者取得了诸多胜利，从提升汽车安全性到揭露在缺乏清洁水源国家使用婴儿配方奶粉替代母乳的危害。
20世纪80年代，消费者运动的命运发生了逆转，这主要得益于美国及国际社会反监管议程的兴起。在此过程中，消费主义的定义发生了转变，更注重选择而非获取。正如希尔顿所指出的，这种变化更广泛地反映了我们作为消费者面临的两难困境：我们是希望为自己获得更多物质和繁荣，还是希望让处境不如我们的群体也能享有与我们相同的机会和生活水平? 《共同富裕》明确指出，如果我们放弃对消费社会的理想化愿景，就会将消费者降格为单纯的购物者，同时剥夺了世界上绝大多数人共享富裕成果的权利。(Sandy)
Awards/获奖情况：
About the Author/作者介绍： 马修·希尔顿是伯明翰大学社会史教授，著有《二十世纪英国消费主义：历史运动的追寻》和《1800-2000年英国流行文化中的吸烟现象》。Matthew Hilton is Professor of Social History at the University of Birmingham. He is the author of Consumerism in Twentieth-Century Britain: The Search for a Historical Movement and Smoking in British Popular Culture, 1800-2000.
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