Consumption, status, and sustainability: ecological and anthropological perspectives

This volume addresses current concerns about the climate and environmental sustainability by exploring one of the key drivers of contemporary environmental problems: the role of status competition in generating what we consume, and what we throw away, to the detriment of the planet. Across time and...

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Bibliographic Details
Other Authors: Roscoe, Paul Bernard 1948- (Editor), Isenhour, Cindy ca. 20./21. Jh (Editor)
Format: Electronic eBook
Language:English
Published: Cambridge, United Kingdom Cambridge University Press 2021
Series:New directions in sustainability and society
Subjects:
Online Access:DE-12
DE-92
DE-473
DE-824
Volltext
Summary:This volume addresses current concerns about the climate and environmental sustainability by exploring one of the key drivers of contemporary environmental problems: the role of status competition in generating what we consume, and what we throw away, to the detriment of the planet. Across time and space, humans have pursued social status in many different ways - through ritual purity, singing or dancing, child-bearing, bodily deformation, even headhunting. In many of the world's most consumptive societies, however, consumption has become closely tied to how individuals build and communicate status. Given this tight link, people will be reluctant to reduce consumption levels - and environmental impact -- and forego their ability to communicate or improve their social standing. Drawing on cross-cultural and archaeological evidence, this book asks how a stronger understanding of the links between status and consumption across time, space, and culture might bend the curve towards a more sustainable future
Item Description:"The project gained momentum when the Wenner-Gren Foundation sponsored a workshop, "Status Pursuits across Human Systems," at the University of Maine that brought together a group of distinguished archaeologists and anthropologists in October 2016 to discuss the issue against a background of environmental sustainability more generally." (Preface)
Physical Description:1 Online-Ressource (xii, 349 Seiten) Illustrationen
ISBN:9781108874441
DOI:10.1017/9781108874441

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