American business academic
The development of contemporary consumer societies has had a profound effect on the way we view the world. Stated most simply, we have come to regard an increasing profusion of both natural and human-produced things as objects to be desired, acquired, savored, and possessed.
RUSSELL W. BELK
Collecting in a Consumer Society
If possessions are viewed as part of self, it follows that an unintentional loss of possessions should be regarded as a loss or lessening of self.
RUSSELL W. BELK
"Possessions and the Extended Self", Journal of Consumer Research, September 1, 1988
Are we moving from a society where we ask "Why rent when you can buy?" to a society where we ask "Why own when you can rent by the hour?"
RUSSELL W. BELK
interview, The Science of Ownership
Collectors tend to feel attached to their collections in ways that may seem irrational if viewed in terms of the normal functions of the things collected.
RUSSELL W. BELK
Collecting in a Consumer Society
Even though the public may not go as far as legitimizing most collectors as participating in a serious artistic, historic, or scientific endeavor, there is in most contemporary cultures a tolerance and implicit support of collecting by those who themselves do not collect. For if collecting is the epitome of consumerism and involves deriving pleasure from acquiring and possessing a large number of objects, to condemn collecting would be to condemn the consumer ethos to which most of us subscribe.
RUSSELL W. BELK
Collecting in a Consumer Society
Objects in our possession literally can extend self, as when a tool or weapon allows us to do things of which we would otherwise be incapable. Possessions can also symbolically extend self, as when a uniform or trophy allows us to convince ourselves (and perhaps others) that we can be a different person than we would be without them.
RUSSELL W. BELK
"Possessions and the Extended Self", Journal of Consumer Research, September 1, 1988
Collecting, especially of the classifying sort epitomized by stamp collecting, offered a means to seem to gain control of the world and of the past.
RUSSELL W. BELK
Collecting in a Consumer Society
I think virtual possessions pose some interesting challenges. When our books, records, communications, photos, greeting cards, and much of our social lives are now digital as well as able to be copied and sent anywhere in the world instantly, how does this change our feelings about owning such things? Is a digital collection of music, books, or photos regarded differently than their former tangible equivalents? Is a gift of digital music as valued as a CD, DVD, or vinyl record with the same music? What does digitization do to our willingness and propensity to share these things?
RUSSELL W. BELK
interview, The Science of Ownership
We cannot hope to understand consumer behavior without first gaining some understanding of the meanings that consumers attach to possessions. A key to understanding what possessions mean is recognizing that, knowingly or unknowingly, intentionally or unintentionally, we regard our possessions as parts of ourselves.
RUSSELL W. BELK
"Possessions and the Extended Self", Journal of Consumer Research, September 1, 1988
Collecting is highly involving passionate consumption rather than an uninvolving form of consumption like buying canned peas (unless of course one is a collector of canned peas in which case such a purchase for the collection may matter a great deal).
RUSSELL W. BELK
Collecting in a Consumer Society