''Homo consumericus'' ( mock Latin for consumerist person) is a

neologism A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...

used in the social sciences, notably by Gad Saad in his book: ''The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption'' and by Gilles Lipovetsky in ''Le Bonheur Paradoxal''. According to these and other scholars the phenomenon of

mass consumption Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the sup ...

could be compared to certain traits of human psychology described by evolutionary scientists pointing out similarities between

Darwinian Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others, stating that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that ...

principles and

consumer behaviour Consumer behavior is the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and all the activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. Consumer behaviour consists of how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and p ...

. Lipovetsky has noted that modern times have brought about the rise of a ''third'' type of ''Homo consumericus,'' who is unpredictable and insatiable. A similar expression "Homo Consumens" was used by Erich Fromm in ''Socialist Humanism'', written in 1965. There Fromm wrote on Homo consumens: "Homo consumens is the man whose main goal is not primarily to ''own'' things, but to ''consume'' more and more, and thus to compensate for his inner vacuity, passivity, loneliness, and anxiety." The expression "Homo Consumens" was used by several other authors, including

Mihailo Marković Mihailo Marković, PhD ( sr-cyr, Михаило Марковић; 24 February 1923 – 7 February 2010) was a Serbian philosopher who gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a proponent of the Praxis School, a Marxist humanist movement that ...

.Mihailo Marković, “Economism or the Humanization of Economics”
''Praxis'', international edition, 1969, no. 3-4, p. 452.

References

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External links

Psychology Today – Homo ConsumericusJulien Winock – ''Le bonheur paradoxal. Essai sur la société d’hyperconsommation'' – Gilles Lipovetsky
Evolutionary biology Selection Concepts in social philosophy Consumer Dog Latin words and phrases

See also

References

External links