New philosophical paradigms in marketing: From amoral consumerism to axiological societing

Abstract

Starting with the philosophical correlations of key marketing concepts (needs/wants/desires) which serve as the backbone of consumerism, today’s dominant ideology, this chapter seeks to outline the implications of the present economic crisis and the possible effects for the future of consumerism as well as the marketing discipline itself. Philosophical ethics and economics appear to be parting their ways in affluent societies. The separation of marketing from economics, its subsequent development as an independent field and its focus on the individual behavior alone have resulted in an overemphasis on individual desires at the expense of value. Thus, consumption is not being held responsible for collective welfare and the achievement of social objectives. The chapter argues that the ongoing crisis in the modern world is unique in that it signifies a possible end of the “false desires” based consumer culture edifice alongside the bubble finance-driven economies. Reforms in the way we see marketing and consumption are necessary in order to reduce and diversify the Schumpeterian (1947) creative/destructive effects of evolutionary forms of the present economic system, while fulfilling the Aristotelian economic ideal of creating wealth, in such a way as to make every individual a better person and the world a better place to live, rather than just to consume in.