Well-being and consumer culture: a different kind of public health problem?

Carlisle, S. and Hanlon, P. (2007) Well-being and consumer culture: a different kind of public health problem? Health Promotion International, 22(3), pp. 261-268. (doi: 10.1093/heapro/dam022)

Abstract

The concept of well-being is now of interest to many disciplines; as a consequence, it presents an increasingly complex and contested territory. We suggest that much current thinking about well-being can be summarized in terms of four main discourses: scientific, popular, critical and environmental. Exponents of the scientific discourse argue that subjective well-being is now static or declining in developed countries: a paradox for economists, as incomes have grown considerably. Psychological observations on the loss of subjective well-being have also entered popular awareness, in simplified form, and conceptions of well-being as happiness are now influencing contemporary political debate and policy-making. These views have not escaped criticism. Philosophers understand well-being as part of a flourishing human life, not just happiness. Some social theorists critique the export of specific cultural concepts of well-being as human universals. Others view well-being as a potentially divisive construct that may contribute to maintaining social inequalities. Environmentalists argue that socio-cultural patterns of over-consumption, within the neo-liberal economies of developed societies, present an impending ecological threat to individual, social and global well-being. As the four discourses carry different implications for action, we conclude by considering their varied utility and applicability for health promotion.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: Well-being, consumer culture.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Hanlon, Professor Phil and Carlisle, Dr Sandra
• Authors: Carlisle, S., and Hanlon, P.
• Subjects: R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine; B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences
• Journal Name: Health Promotion International
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• ISSN: 1460-2245
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2007 Oxford University Press
• First Published: First published in Health Promotion Journal 22(3):261-268
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher.