On Consumer Culture, Identity, the Church and the Rhetorics of Delight

The Reading Augustine series presents short, engaging books offering personal readings of St. Augustine of Hippo's contributions to western philosophical, literary, and religious life.

Mark Clavier draws on Augustine of Hippo to provide a philosophical explanation for the success of marketing and consumer culture. Augustine's thought, rooted in rhetorical theory, presented a brilliant understanding of the experiences of damnation and salvation that took seriously the often hidden psychology of human motivation. His keen insight into the power of delight over personal notions of freedom and self-identity can be used to shed light on how the constant lure of promised happiness shapes the identities of consumers. From Augustine's perspective, it is only by addressing the sources of delight within consumerism and by rediscovering the wellsprings of spiritual thought that we can effectively challenge consumer culture.

To an age awash with commercial rhetoric, the fifth-century Bishop of Hippo offers a theological rhetoric that is surprisingly contemporary and insightful.