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Caroline Heldman - Protest Politics in the Marketplace: Consumer Activism in the Corporate Age

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Book:
Protest Politics in the Marketplace: Consumer Activism in the Corporate Age
Author:
Caroline Heldman
Publisher:
Cornell University Press
Genre:
Books / Politics
Year:
2017
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PROTEST POLITICS IN THE MARKETPLACE

Consumer Activism in the Corporate Age

Caroline Heldman

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS ITHACA AND LONDON

For Ian

The real power emerging today in democratic politics is just the mass of people who are crying out against the high cost of living. That is a consumers cry. Far from being an impotent one, it is, I believe, destined to be stronger than the interests either of labor or of capital.

Walter Lippmann, Drift and Mastery, 1914

Contents

Illustrations

Preface

This book is the culmination of two decades of work on consumer activism that began at Rutgers University in 1998. I have been writing about and presenting on the subject since that time, and it is a glorious, humbling experience to return to early academic work with fresh eyes, to marry a more developed intellectual sensibility with my first academic loveconsumer activism.

When I started, my focus was on how women used consumer activism as a tool when they lacked power through formal political channels. I soon discovered that so little had been written on the subject that a narrow emphasis on gender was not sufficient to fill the large gap in existing research, so I broadened the scope.

Business scholars, historians, and sociologists had already discovered consumer activism, but I faced considerable resistance from political scientists who insisted that consumer activism was simply not political. As a consumer activist, I knew the political ramifications of this activity, and I sensed that it was becoming more important in the U.S. political landscape. I had chosen to study it because it was timely. Then, in 1999, the Battle in Seattle put consumer activism on the front page of the New York Times, and my battle to have consumer activism recognized as a political behavior became much easier.

In the intervening years, historians have published some first-rate books about U.S. consumer activism (e.g., Lizabeth Cohen, A Consumers Republic: The Politics of Mass Consumption in Postwar America; Matthew Hilton, Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalization; and especially Lawrence Glickman, Buying Power: A History of Consumer Activism in America), but political science has been slow to the subject. I no longer have to convince most of my colleagues that this behavior is political, but oddly enough this book is the first to study the political and democratic implications of contemporary consumer activism in the United States.

My interest in consumer activism started when I was fourteen years old. I spent the summer working as a janitor at the local high school in order to purchase a used Commodore 64 so I could waste my days playing video games, as well as improve the reach of my consumer activism. Using a list from an animal rights magazine, I put my computer to use writing letters to companies that tested their products on animals. I was home-schooled, so I had the luxury of writing dozens of letters each week shaming these companies and pledging to not purchase their products unless they stopped testing on animals. (Of course my parents thought my printer activity was related to schoolwork, not activism.) I did not have the language for what I was doing (boycotting), nor was I aware of the long history of consumer activism or the many other people who were also engaging in it. All I knew that was that I wanted these companies to stop testing their products on animals and that my threat to withhold purchasing might give me some leverage.

Since that time, I have been active in many consumer campaigns. My frequent use of consumer activism provides insights into both its effectiveness and limitations, and my experience and training in electoral politics allows me to situate it within the broader political context. I also approach this subject with a business degree and years of experience working in the private sector in firms that were occasionally targeted by consumer activists. At one company, I developed the response protocol to consumer activism, which made me acutely aware of the risk posed by the unpredictability of (sometimes irrational) consumer activists.

I bring my knowledge as a practitioner of consumer activism, a corporate officer, and a political scientist to bear on this project, as well as my deep and abiding passion for the subject. This book was a long time in the making, and after all these years, I am thrilled to share it with you.

I am grateful to many people who helped me along the way. I am indebted to Richard Lau at Rutgers University for his rigorous critiques and unremitting encouragement. Rick persistently nudged me over the years to publish my work on this subject, and his faith in the project made it happen. I am very thankful to Jane Junn for funding my initial data collection and to Susan Carroll, Kerry Haynie, and Benjamin Barberall at Rutgersfor their invaluable feedback that shaped the direction of the book.

This book would not have been possible without the thoughtful guidance of my editor, Michael McGandy, who improved the manuscript at every step. Michael made the process a joyful one with his creative ideas and enthusiasm. Julie F. Nemers careful editing strengthened the manuscript, and Karen Hwa skillfully oversaw the revision process.

This book also benefitted greatly from reviewers. Lawrence Glickman offered keen insights on historical context and events that tremendously improved the project. I am indebted to him for furnishing the historical backbone of this book with his previous scholarship, and for investing the time to closely read my manuscript several times. Mark B. Brown was the first to suggest that I include a chapter on political theory, which I could not have done without his expertise and guidance on the subject. Andrew Murphy furnished helpful insights on political theory that took the project in new and necessary directions. Tony Barnstone was an early champion of the project who encouraged me to gather a decade of data to better understand patterns and trends. The contents of this book have also been shaped by students over the years. Rebecca Cooper, an Occidental College graduate, provided excellent editorial, formatting, and fact-checking assistance. Georgia Faye Hirsty, Erinn Carter, Clint Swift, and Sarah Oliver from Whittier College gathered background materials that enriched the book when they were undergraduates.

I am deeply grateful to Ian Breckenridge-Jackson for reading drafts and for managing the household while I worked long hours. In my absence, he managed to make all the cats love him more.

Abbreviations

AAF	Artists against Fracking
AAUW	American Association of University Women
AFA	American Family Association
AFL-CIO	American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
AHA	American Humane Association
ALEC	American Legislative Exchange Council
ALF	Animal Liberation Front
ANWR	Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
ARM	Animal Rights Movement
BLF	Billboard Liberation Front
BP	British Petroleum
CARB	Citizens Against Religious Bigotry
CARM	Campus Anti-Rape Movement
CFA	Consumer Federation of America
CIW	Coalition of Immokalee Workers
COC	Color of Change
CORE	Congress of Racial Equality
CWA

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