3. Understanding Material Cultures

The SoP approach considers consumption through the lens of (social) norms, which are taken to be identifiable systematic patterns of consumption, clustered across groups. These norms feature extensively in daily life, for example, in decisions ranging from what to eat to where to live. To examine the forces that shape such norms, the SoP approach draws on the notion of material culture which bridges the gap between the materiality of objects and the social and cultural relations to which they are attached. Cultures relate not just to consumption choices but also to the normalization of certain practices. This is illustrated by the ways in which processes of neoliberalism and financialization have become embedded in daily understandings and practices, for example, as ‘citizens’ have been transformed into ‘consumers’. Material cultures are often so ingrained that they are difficult to identify. To assist with this, the chapter sets out a list of criteria for analysing the nature of cultural associations and the way these are formed, known as the 10Cs.