Common use of Consumption Clause in Contracts

Consumption. Changing patterns and styles of consumption are perhaps one of the most obvious illustrations of the effect of migration on the distribution of resources in village society. The influx of new commodities and global brands and fashions appear in striking juxtaposition to the more traditional or local objects and elements that too comprise the material culture of village life. Consumption is not merely a consequence of migration, however. Rather, it is also part of its impetus since the need and desire for certain commodities is a staple factor in most migratory decision-making and, moreover, the very production of such commodities might often be what provides labour opportunities for migrants. Thus, commodities and their consumption are linked reciprocally and dynamically to migration as both cause and effect. This recursive relation of migration and consumption has not always come to the fore in the literature, however, and the aim of this section of the theoretical framework for this PhD is to explore how and where the sphere of consumption might sit within the mechanics of the migration systems framework discussed above. This second section of the theoretical framework begins examining work that situates consumption in relation to reflexive identity construction. This approach predominates among studies of consumption in the South and the accounts examined here sketch this creative agency as a driver of human mobility. As will be illustrated, however, this approach tends to divorce consumption from the wider social milieu from which it originates, obfuscating the social and material relations of consumption practices. For the purposes of this PhD, these relations must be brought back into focus, in order to more fully expose the depth and scope of the recursive interactions of migration and consumption. ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2005:224) have noted that studies of the clothing industry (and arguably this criticism may be extended to studies of economic relations in the South in general) have demonstrated a pervasive tendency to focus on the ‘globalisation of production’, thereby largely ignoring the consumerist facet of social relations that affect and are, indeed, effected by and within the South. ‘People in local spaces’, they argue, ‘tend to be categorized primarily as “workers” and “producers” who are affected by, and respond to the exigencies of Western capital and international production’ (Kothari and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2005:224). It seems, therefore, that there is a need to ‘disrupt the dualism’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2005:224) that persists in this dichotomous presentation of Western consumer and Southern producer. Authors like ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1998:63) have argued to the contrary that, for example, ‘the Taiwanese do not… consume the products that they make, but just labour in their manufacture’. However, as Kothari and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2005:224), there are, in fact, many global products produced in the South for the attention of Southern consumers. Focusing on the clothing industry, they identify surplus export stock and fake brands as two typical avenues for local consumption at sites of production. Other industries, however, engage local workforces to produce for the local market with rather more direct intent: for example, global brand beverage companies like Coca-Cola typically bottle at a national level for national consumption (▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1998). Certainly here, workers do ‘consume the products they make’ rather than merely ‘labour in their manufacture’. ▇▇▇▇▇ (1997:40) concurs that there is a ‘general absence of sustained attention to consumption as a social practice in the wider literature [on the South]’ and suggests that the reason for this paucity of studies might rest with unease on the part of researchers and academics to confront the disconcerting notion that: ‘[C]ommodity consumption by working class actors, however necessary for the daily reproduction of their labour power, entails a kind of complicity in their exploitation, for they are consuming the products of their own alienated labour for the profit of capital’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:40). Thus she argues, ‘the pursuit of commodities as marker of symbolic value or social status appears as a particularly insidious form of false consciousness in the face of capitalist hegemony’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:40). Yet she maintains that there is a strict necessity to forge a place for studies of consumption in the documentation of experiences of proletarianization in the developing world. Indeed, this necessity arises from this very contradiction that the conceptualisation of the Southern worker-consumer – complicit in her own exploitation – entails. She contends: ‘Their experiences as workers do not provide the only or even the most compelling framework through which many migrant women assess their time in the city. Rather it is in new forms of urban consumption… that the tensions and contradictions of the migration experience are most keenly felt. Viewing migrants as consumers, rather than solely as producers, reveals more complex dimensions of women’s urban employment and highlights a powerful avenue by which labour migrants may pursue new forms of autonomy and agency and the construction of socially satisfying identities’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:21). Since ▇▇▇▇▇’ writing, treatment of migration in the literature (Hoefinger 2013; ▇▇▇▇▇ 2008; ▇▇▇▇▇ 2004) has made some effort towards overcoming this productivist bias that is perceived to dominate studies of the South, by emphasising aspirations of modernity and consumer lifestyle that underwrite migratory decisions, particularly among the young, in this region (Mapril 2014; ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2013; ▇▇▇▇ 2012; ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2006, 2000, 1999). As ▇▇▇▇▇ (1997:39) describes, ‘labour mobility is embedded in social and cultural tensions within households and within the individual herself’. It ‘reflects not just dominant ideals of filial obligation’ but ‘equally powerful perceptions of status lost already to mobile peers and desires for “beautiful clothes” and other commodified signifiers of urban glamour and sophistication’ and, thus, ‘the movement of young women into Bangkok has as much to do with aspirations for particular kinds of personhood as with specific material goals’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:39). ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2003:205) have described these aspirations as part of what they term the ‘cultural logic of migration’: ‘Once the cultural logic of migration is taken into account, the frequently invoked link between declining livelihood security and increasing proclivity to migrate seems increasingly harder to sustain. In the evolving world of rural cosmopolitanism, livelihood security may no longer be the overarching factor in determining migration. In fact, we go as far to suggest that migration may be undertaken, even if it sometimes compromises the livelihood security and the working conditions of the migrant – provided it contains the promise to positively transform place-based identities and relations of subjugation’. The necessity of reconciling this ‘cultural logic’ into understandings of migration patterns and practice is, as discussed in the previous section of this theoretical framework, one of the factors that implores the employ of a more holistic framework for the study of migration, emphasising that economic concerns are not always the sole impetus of movement. In ▇▇▇▇▇’ account, and others like it, ‘economic liberalisation’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1999:989), the ‘spread of communication technology’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:42), the ‘globalisation of mass media’ (Ger and Belk 1996:279) and ‘the export of popular culture’ (Ger and Belk 1996:279; see also ▇▇▇▇▇ 2003:290), ‘international tourism’ (Ger and Belk 1996:280), not to mention migrant networks themselves (Busza 2004; ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1999; ▇▇▇▇▇ 1997; Ger and Belk 1996), are identified as factors that work to generate powerful discourses of modernity that become significant mechanisms within migration ‘systems’, as described prior: mechanisms that serve to induce flows of workers to urban areas, where they hope to partake in or witness these new cultural forms. As ▇▇▇▇▇ describes of Thai migrants: ‘Just as powerful [as filial obligation] in shaping migration decisions is an explicit desire to be “up-to-date” (than samay) and to participate in Thai modernity. Let me be clear here the term modernity refers not to an objective social reality but to a powerful field of popular discourse and cultural production... To rural producers the images of urban wealth and commodified progress that pervade Thai popular culture pose models of consumption that, however, difficult to achieve, are impossible to ignore. In particular, the ownership and display of new technologies and consumer commodities are increasingly valued as symbols of modern success and social status throughout Thailand’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 1997:42). ▇▇▇▇▇ thus draws on the work of authors like ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1998, 2005) and ▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1996), who have utilised cultural perspectives of consumption to emphasise its ‘transformative power’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2003:190); its potential to reconfigure space and, most importantly for purposes here, individual and collective identity, understood in ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇’ (1991) sense as a ‘reflexive process of self-actualisation’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and Thrift 1995:227). Simply put, ‘our identities are affirmed and contested through specific acts of consumption: we define ourselves by what we buy and by the meaning we give to the goods and services that we acquire’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and Thrift 1995:227). As ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ have demonstrated similarly in the context of Gulf migrants in Kerala, ‘the adoption of specific consumption practices’ upon return enables said migrants to ‘objectify and redefine both their self-perceived and other-perceived position’ and, importantly for our purposes, ‘to concretize and make sense of their attempts to achieve generalized upwards social mobility’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1999:989). Indeed, at the extreme, this ‘transformative power’ is said to be actively harnessed by consumers, so that the very act of consumption becomes a form of resistance to economic, social and cultural subjugation on a range of scales, from global to local: ‘consumption is a symbol or declaration of autonomy’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2005:298). For ▇▇▇▇▇ (2003:298; see also ▇▇▇▇▇ 1997; ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2005), the conspicuous and transient patterns of consumption practiced by young male sapphire miners in Madagascar is rendered an act of defiance to subjugation experienced in accordance with traditional social relations: ‘Rather than channel the value of their efforts into the support and reproduction of enduring kin- and place-based social networks – networks in which young men, it should be noted, are likely to occupy subordinate positions – Ambondromifehy’s conspicuous consumers spend on themselves’. In addition to an act of resistance against social relations of subjugation, ▇▇▇▇▇ (2003:298) suggests that, moreover, the ‘daring’ consumption patterns of the young men represent acts of defiance against economic relations of subjugation; their refusal to acknowledge and live within the confines of ‘risk’: ‘a means by which people allotted the essentially passive role of dealing with uncertainty exert control and demonstrate agency’. ▇▇▇▇▇ thus evidences ‘the possibility that the cosmopolitan world of goods and significations can have emancipatory potential for groups subordinated by “traditional”, place-specific relations of hierarchy’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ 2003:205). Through acts of consumption, ▇▇▇▇▇’▇ miners are afforded the ability to self-construct identities and become, in opposition to their traditional social role, ‘powerful, attractive and even charismatic men’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 2003:299) – literally rather than figuratively: ‘their consumption is not so much “akin” to fantasy as it is the means to the momentary realization of fantasy’ (▇▇▇▇▇ 2003:299). ▇▇▇▇ (1986) argued similarly of the intriguing case of Jock Stiratt’s Sri Lankan fishermen – low-waged and isolated until the local availability of ice began to bring high returns form inland markets, they used this new-found wealth to build and purchase garages, televisions, refrigerators for island homes without roads, cars, or electricity – that consumer goods could incorporate ‘“into the personal and social identity of the consumer” , “dialectically negate the conditions under which the ... wealth was actually obtained” and “objectify and transform” a productive career’ (▇▇▇▇ 1986 cited in ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ 1999:1011). ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇ (1999), however, offer a more modest appraisal of the 'transformative power' of consumption. In their study of Gulf migrants in Kerala, acts of consumption are not a means to circumvent traditional place-specific relations of hierarchy but, rather, are located precisely within this niche. Consumption, as they describe, is ‘located within individual, familial and group mobility strategies and developmental cycles’ and ‘assumes a long-term dimension orientated towards present and future’ (Osella and Osella 1999:989). Moreover, ‘from this long-term perspective, consumption practices take on a normative aspect’ by which ‘consumption and mobility trajectories are clearly articulated within the cycle’: i.e. ‘people’s spending patterns are expected to change over time’ (▇▇▇▇▇▇ and Osella 1999:990). Thus, whilst transient consumption of the type identified by ▇▇▇▇▇, above, is perfectly legitimate among the young, over time this immature demeanour must be displaced by ‘values of permanency’ (Osella and Osella 1999:990); consumption must be channelled into strategic purchase of household goods and housing itself to meet ideals of ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ status. Acts of consumption hardly represent resistance to traditional hierarchy, instead, the very means of conformity; even such ‘daring’ acts as ▇▇▇▇▇ identifies are anticipated and sanctioned by the shifting norms that apply throughout the stages of the individual’s life cycle. ▇▇▇▇▇▇ ▇▇▇▇, in an earlier (1986) study of consumption among the newly rich of the Muria, a tribal group in India, has similarly suggested that patterns of consumption, rather than formed outside or in opposition to traditional norms, are mediated by and subject to them. In his study, those who had newly acquired wealth in what was, 'historically, a homogeneous, clan-based' and 'egalitarian' society (Gell 1986:111) were prohibited from engaging in acts of conspicuous consumption by 'social pressures' that labelled such activity 'egotistical and anti-social' (Gell 1986:111) as it threatened to undermine the traditional 'collectivist' ethos (Gell 1986:123) that Gell described as characterising the community. Thus a situation arose in which 'rich Muria accumulate wealth they dare not spend... [They] are forced to consume as if they were poor' (Gell 1986:111). The subsequent perverse irony of the situation is that 'the rich', of course, 'got still richer' (Gell 1986:111) as their wealth was channelled into 'practical' uses – land, additional houses – and simple accumulation, none of which carried the connotations of 'playing with money' (Gell 1986:133; emphases added) that might have shattered the external appearance of equality, but which did far more structural damage; thus, the 'unintended consequence' of this 'pattern of restraints on consumption geared to the maintenance of egalitarian norms has been the undermining of the economic basis for the traditional egalitarian ethos of Muria society', asserts Gell (1986:111). ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ (2003:205) offer a cautionary note regarding the ‘celebrationist narratives’ of ‘subculture theorists’ who ‘anoint consumerism as a new diffuse form of resistance’ and, in doing so, ‘offer a mythologized consumer as agent of history’. Clearly – as shown most overtly by ▇▇▇▇▇▇ and ▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ (1999) contributions above and ▇▇▇▇▇ (1997), yet also by the wealth of literature stressing the significance of sustained rural-urban migratory linkages - the typical ‘migrant as consumer’ is ‘a creature of more modest aspirations, prescience and agency’: ‘Like ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇’▇ peasant, he or she exhibits a streak of conservatism and realises his or her agency in unlikely rather than articulated ways. More often than not, migrants continue to retain attachment to their home villages, and successful mi