The New Politics of Consumption and Banksy

Banksy is a graffiti artist in the United Kingdom that takes stabs at things like war, political agenda, and consumerism. I felt that the following image adequately embodies the principles discussed by Juliet Schor in The New Politics of Consumerism.



I related this picture to the quote “Income (the solution) leads to the consumption practices that exacerbate and reproduce class and social inequalities, resulting in – and perhaps even worsening – an unequal distribution of income. (Page 184)” Here we can see an obvious example of poor distribution of wealth, when a young boy is working to make money by becoming personal transportation for the obviously gluttonous wealthy. These fat and happy people are enjoying being above everyday human practices like walking, at the expense of the poor. These people in the rickshaw represent the tiny percentage of people that own the majority of the country’s wealth. This couple that represent said people, thrive off of the consumerist nature of the poor, who are trying to “keep up with the Smiths.” Just like Schor mentions that more and more housewives are entering the workforce to have the income available, this child represents the element of family that is lost to consumerism.