Consumer imaginary

The consumer imaginary dimension is connected to the social comparison dimension in the drive to buy/produce more than our basic needs require.

Some of the possible degrowth proposals in this field, developed at the Second International Conference on Degrowth (Barcelona 2010) are illustrated below:

Advertising
> Advertising from public spaces should be limited and all ads that affect children/vulnerable people, health, involve CO2-intensive sectors, or have sexist messages, should be regulated. For that purpose, bans, regulation and taxation of advertisement should be introduced.
> Bottom-up measures that change people’s perception of advertising in order to recognize its manipulative nature are needed.
> Community and individual involvement, including direct action, are needed in order to expose the ubiquity of advertising and the exploitation of values associated with it. Attention should be paid to the compliance with existing and adopting new regulation on advertising. The financial sustainability of free media needs to be ensured.

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