Consumers and Citizens

If citizens are consumer citizens, what does this suggest for the quality of democracy? As the previous chapters have shown, appealing to people as consumer citizens can increase their political knowledge, increase their trust in government, and lead them to sign up for health insurance. In this chapter, guidance for policymakers is offered, and a new approach to civic education, modeled on the lessons of this book, is outlined. Ultimately, citizens must balance their obligations as citizens with the ubiquity of consumer life. The chapter also discusses implications for models of attitude formation.