The Consumer as Citizen: The Role of Ethics for a Sustainable Consumption

Cecilia Ricci , Nicola Marinelli , Lorenzo Puliti
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引用次数: 20

Abstract

The role of ethics, even in its absence, is essential in the economic discourse, despite its shifting through different theories. From the political Aristotelian tradition to the recent reflection about the concept of postmodern society – through the theory of maximizing the personal interest belonging to Utilitarianism– the moral questions and its dilemma, either accepted or rejected as non sense, have always indicated the directions to the human acts.

This paper is focused on consumption field seen as the favourite place where emerge all the contradictions of ethical human behaviour (in terms of choice, moral obligations, individual interests etc).

Firstly, the foundations of consumer's ethical responsibility is explored by addressing the changes from Modernity to Postmodernity and their alternative models of consumption.

It is argued that, paradoxically, the traces of “liquid society” with the fall of social structure, represent the beginning for developing a new kind of consumer defined as citizen who is able to embrace a sustainable and moral concept of consumption focused on collective well-being.

Secondly, after having defined the main features of ethical consumer, the paper addresses the role of ethics as the element which makes possible the communication between the two spheres of production and consumption. In this regard, following the dialectic between “rights” and “duties” articulated by Schrader, the responsibility of consumer is showed to be at the foundation of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

消费者作为公民:伦理在可持续消费中的作用
伦理的作用,即使在没有它的情况下,在经济话语中也是必不可少的,尽管它在不同的理论中不断变化。从政治上的亚里士多德传统到近代对后现代社会概念的反思——通过属于功利主义的个人利益最大化理论——道德问题及其困境,或被认为是无意义的,或被认为是无意义的,或被认为是被拒绝的,始终为人类的行为指明了方向。这篇论文的重点是消费领域被视为最喜欢的地方,在这里出现的所有伦理人类行为的矛盾(在选择,道德义务,个人利益等方面)。首先,从现代性到后现代性的变迁及其消费模式的选择,探讨消费者伦理责任的基础。有人认为,矛盾的是,随着社会结构的衰落,“流动社会”的痕迹代表了发展一种新型消费者的开始,这种消费者被定义为能够接受以集体福祉为重点的可持续和道德消费观念的公民。其次,在界定了道德消费者的主要特征之后,本文阐述了道德作为使生产和消费两个领域之间的交流成为可能的要素的作用。在这方面,遵循Schrader所阐述的“权利”与“义务”的辩证关系,消费者的责任是企业社会责任(CSR)的基础。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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