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The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 611, No. 1, 217-235 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0002716206298714

Political Consumerism: How Communication and Consumption Orientations Drive "Lifestyle Politics"

Dhavan V. Shah

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Douglas M. McLeod

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Eunkyung Kim

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sun Young Lee

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Melissa R. Gotlieb

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Shirley S. Ho

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Hilde Breivik

School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Department of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison

Historians and cultural theorists have long asserted that a desire to express political concerns often guides consumer behavior, yet such political consumerism has received limited attention from social scientists. Here, the authors explore the relationship of political consumerism with dispositional factors, communication variables, and consumption orientations using data collected from a panel survey conducted in the United States between February 2002 and July 2005. The authors test a theorized model using both cross-sectional and auto-regressive panel analyses. The static and change models reveal that conventional and online news use encourage political consumerism indirectly through their influence on political talk and environmental concerns. However, media use may also have some suppressive effects by reducing the desire to protect others from harmful messages. Results demonstrate how communication practices and consumption orientations work together to influence political consumerism beyond previously delineated factors. Implications for declines in political and civic participation and youth socialization are discussed.

Key Words: antisweatshop • boycott • buycott • fair trade • lifestyle politics • political consumerism • socially conscious consumption


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