Ageing in a consumer society: From passive to active consumption in Britain

Description

Targeted as the 'grey consumer', people retiring now participated in the creation of the post-war consumer culture. These consumers have grown older but have not stopped consuming. Based on extensive analysis over two years, this unique book examines the engagement of older people with consumer society in Britain since the 1960s. It charts the changes in the experience of later life in the UK over the last 50 years, the rise of the 'individualised consumer citizen' and what this means for health and social policies. The book will appeal to students, lecturers, researchers and policy analysts. It will provide material for teaching on undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses in sociology, social policy and social gerontology. It will also have considerable appeal to private industry engaged with older consumers as well as to voluntary and non-governmental organisations addressing ageing in Britain.

Ian Rees Jones is Professor of Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Wales, Bangor. The research was conducted by Chris Gilleard , Martin Hyde, Christina Victor, Richard Wiggins and Paul Higgs who was Principle investigator on the ESRC project.

"This book brings together research on later life and the literature on consumption in new ways. It is timely, informative, and thought-provoking." Professor Frank Trentmann, Birkbeck College, London, author of Free Trade Nation: Commerce, Consumption and Civil Society in Modern Britain