Consumption and concepts of the consumer sit at the centre of numerous current debates - academic, political and environmental. This highly readable and stimulating book - a tour-de-force in the breadth of its coverage and analysis - shows how different traditions of thought have constructed different representations of the consumer. Each of these has its own coherence but rarely addresses alternative positions. A key concern of the authors is to identify, disentangle and juxtapose approaches to contemporary consumption which are seldom found in a single text.