ARTICLE Understandings of Consumerism in

Abstract. This article explores different understandings of consumerism among upper/upper-middle and lower income sectors in Chile. Theoretically, it relies on a cultural approach to rationality and on a Habermasian system vs lifeworld interpretation of society. Empirically, it resorts to a corpus of semi-structured interviews and focus groups conducted in Chile in 1998. The data suggest that the well off rely on a neoliberal interpretation of economic behaviour and scorn the poor for their tendency to engage in consumerism, while the poor interpret consumerism within their lifeworld as the only way of rising above their impoverished condition. Moreover, means of payment emerges as a relevant criterion for establishing social differences in a class-conscious society where neoliberalism has become the dominant ideology. Key words class consciousness ● colonization ● common sense ● conspicuous consumption ● credit ● Latin America ● lifeworld ● neoliberalism ● poverty ● rationalit