Samfund i Samfundet

Abstrakt

This project evolve around examining the relation between the current consumer society, de-scribed by sociologist Zygmunt Bauman and the movement of authenticity: Autenticitetsbevægelsen. This movement includes different aspects of seeking the authentic and among these aspects lies one about people moving to small eco-societies/villages. Through interviews with people living in eco-villages we have tried to get an image of their view on our consumer society. We found that most of the interviewed people living in eco-villages were sceptic about the consumer society. They generally opposed to the idea of consuming only to throw away and buy new things. Instead they wish to protect the environment by being aware of what they consume. Though our informants expressed scepticism about the consumer society, they still feel like they are a part of the large society when using institutions like supermarkets, daycares ect. They have not stopped consuming, but are simply aware of what they buy. To support our examination of the relation between the consumer society and the eco-villages under the movement of authenticity we have defined a counter culture according to John Desmond, the feedback-mecanism between the large and the small eco-societies described by Susan Love Brown and discussed the false need to consume which Herbert Marcuse describes in his work One-Dimensional Man.