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Journal of Consumer Culture
DOI: 10.1177/1469540504040903
Journal of Consumer Culture 2004; 4; 27
Kaj Ilmonen
The Use of and Commitment to Goods
https://joc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/Abstract/4/1/27
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ARTICLE
The Use of and Commitment to Goods
KAJ ILMONEN
University of JyväskyläAbstract. In social theory, goods have usually not been included in the social world.However, in the sociology of consumption, they have been seen as mediating socialrelations and offering opportunities to make social distinctions. It is precisely the
symbolic aspect of goods that makes this possible. In helping to make thesedistinctions, goods are only given a passive role in our lives. They only get to functionas markers of social differences, tastes, and so on. However, the use value of goodscannot be reduced to their symbolic aspect. Generally speaking, the use value also has
two other aspects which I will call the ‘functionality’and ‘productivity’ of goods. I amgoing to argue that because goods also comprise these aspects, they are not just ‘dead’or ‘asocial’ elements or phenomena in our everyday lives, but also play an active role inour relationship to other people. Moreover, I will pay attention to the process ofappropriating goods. On the one hand, I will focus on how we internalize purchasedcommodities (i.e. how we make them our possessions in the social meaning of theword); and, on the other hand, I shall also draw attention to the ways in which wesurround our goods with the aura of ‘me-ness’ (i.e. how we externalize them). I will
then conclude by looking at the active role that goods play as our partners when wetry to cope with everyday life. They are ‘something in order to’, as Heidegger puts it.We are therefore prone to treat them well,‘to take care of them’, and they may havean even more important role in our lives than is usually thought.
Key words
appropriation process ● externalization ● functionality of goods ● internalization ●‘me-ness’ ● object-centred sociality
In his magnificent tale The Fellowship of the Ring (1954–55), J.R.R.Tolkien
puts an ancient theme, the fight of good and bad, in a wonderful frame.1
Journal of Consumer Culture
Copyright © 2004 SAGE Publications
(London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi)
Vol 4(1): 27–50 1469-5405 [DOI: 10.1177/1469540504040903]
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Downloaded from https://joc.sagepub.com at University of Leicester Library on May 5, 2010The focus of this fight is the possession of a specific fairy ring. Most of thestory is about envying and fighting for this ring because it provides its
owner with great power. For instance, with the help of the ring, it is possibleto make oneself invisible, but at a high price: the possessor of the ringbecomes its prisoner. This view describes well the old and widespread beliefthat 本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。