The author analyzes the logic implicit in the consumption behavior and ostentation, as important factor for theredistribution policy. The author presents a review of the psychoanalytic literature and some psychology texts in an attempt to find a satisfactory solid basis to discuss the obvious display of behavior in capitalist society in which fetishism index, even if only as a marker for other researches that allow us to understand the consumption and ostentation behavior, it could, perhaps, turn into useful socioeconomic tool.
Components of the Book:
- FRONT MATTER
- Presentation
- Preface
- Author’s Note
- Introduction
- Chapter One—Psychological Fundamentals of Omnipotence
- 1.1. Methodological Observations
- 1.2. The Principle of Omnipotence
- 1.3. Explaining the Set of Axioms
- Chapter Two—Culture and Historical Materialism
- 2.1. The Primary Significance of the Material Condition
in the Cultural Formation
- 2.2. Historical Materialism in Marx’s Letters to Engels
- 2.3. Historical Materialism According to Other Authors
- 2.4. The Simultaneity between Historical Materialism
and Culture (and Their Overlays)
- Chapter Three—The Fetishism of Commodity in Marx and the Conspicuous Consumption
- 3.1. The Fetishism of Commodity Proposed by Marx
- 3.2. The Meaning of Fetish for Other Social Relations—
Especially the Manifestation of Omnipotence
- 3.3. The Fetishistic Relations and Other Connections with the
Private Property and Commodities
- 3.4. Goods, Private Property, Omnipotence and Justice
- 3.5. Veblen’s Conspicuous Consumption or the Unproductive Consumption
- 3.6. Comments on the Fetish of Commodities in Marx and the
Conspicuous Consumption in Veblen
- 3.7. The Need to Construct an Index of Fetishism to Provide Indication
about Social Preferences Related to the Instruments of Fetish
- Chapter Four—Omnipotence, Egalitarian Groups and Justice Problems
- 4.1. Recalling the Feeling of Omnipotence
- 4.2. The Manifestation of the Problem: The Ethnocentric Character
Equally Reproduced in Other Segments
- 4.3. The Choice of Instruments of Fetish
- 4.4. The Equality of Opportunities and the Question of the Differences:
Borders of the Differences
- 4.5. The Loss of the Omnipotence Feeling as an Indicator of the
Boundaries of Difference
- 4.6. The Ideal Family and the Internal Differentiation to the Group
- 4.7. The Fetishism of Commodity and Its Measurement in Society
- Chapter Five—The Fetishism Index: A Speculation
- 5.1. Exploring Reality—Conspicuous Consumption and Luxury Goods:
The Conceptual Problem
- 5.2. Exploring the Reality—Conspicuous Consumption and Luxury Goods:
The Statistical Problem
- 5.3. Constructing the Index. Detailing the Construction Steps
- 5.4. Commenting on the Index Results
- 5.5. My Ode to Speculation
- BACK MATTER
- Final Considerations
- References
- Appendix: Calculation of the Index
- About the Author
- Full e-Book Text
Readership:
Economists, sociologists, psychoanalysts, environmentalists, policy makers.
Francisco Carlos Ribeiro (Biography), Professor of Economics, Finance, Ethics and Methodology of Scientific Research at Faculdade de Tecnologia de Sorocaba – José Crespo Gonzales