All Consuming

by Neal Lawson

‘Stabbing at battle of Ikea’ Sun ‘Most expensive house has £390m price tag’ Daily Telegraph ‘Financier runs up £36,000 bar bill’ Independent Diamond-encrusted phones, waiting lists for handbags, 7-star hotels – in the summer of 2007, the UK economy finally reached its giddy peak. But it wasn’t just celebrities and bankers wanting to spend, spend, spend. Whipping out our cheap credit cards, the whole nation developed one obsessive, unsustainable habit: shopping. Now the cash has dried up and we’ve consumed our way to financial disaster. But were rich times really happy times? And if shopping got us in to this mess, should we really be encouraged to shop our way out of it? With finances in flux, now is our chance to break this all-consuming cycle. Offering everyday ways to start kicking the habit, Neal Lawson shows us how to put the basket down for good, and why we’ll be happier for it.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Sociology

248 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2009

About the author

Neal Derek Lawson (b. 1963) is an English political commentator, consultant, lobbyist and organiser. He is the co-founder and chair of the Labour Party-affiliated centre-left pressure group Compass.

In June 2023, Lawson received notice that he may face expulsion from the Labour Party – after 44 years of membership – because of a May 2021 retweet supporting tactical voting during the local elections in Oxford West and Abingdon as part of his long-standing advocacy for a united progressive front with the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats. Lawson described the Labour Party as a "bully" and accused it of pursuing a "bureaucratic project" instead of a "deep intellectual cultural project".

Reviews

[Kathryn DeSinaasappelen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be an interesting read for entrepreneurs. The marketing techniques discussed might be useful for someone who is growing an online audience.

Was the the message or the point of the book? Nope, but it was still an interesting read. It wasn't as thought provoking as other non-fiction books, but the pace is good, and it kept my attention.

Read full review here: https://wp.me/p92q9w-h0

[Romany · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was chaos. Churning horror of consumerism and all the many ways it is bad, spat out over and over in different and then more often repetitive ways. I loved it, then hated it, then loved it again. It was written after the GFC, ten years ago now, and the horror hasn’t changed a bit.

[Lils · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, insightful and educational. Definitely a must read for everyone, for all of us(or at least a large percentage of us) are unknowing turbo-consumers. One good take away: earning more doesn't necessary make you happier, shopping doesn't necessarily give you a satisfaction that last; happiness that last can be derived from elsewhere but it doesn't come from shopping.

If you're a shopping addict, with a huge credit debt, this book could perhaps enlighten you, and shed light on the environmental and societal damage you're causing while you buy that piece of fast-fashion garment. :-)

[Huw]

Very good and challenging. Shows how our Western need us to over consume to function and how damaging this is both to the environment and to our own physical and mental health.