Ageing in a Consumer Society

This book provides a unique critical perspective on the changing nature of later life by examining the engagement of older people with consumer society in Britain since the 1960s. People retiring now are those who participated in the creation of the post-war consumer culture. These consumers have grown older but have not stopped consuming; their choices and behaviour are products of the collective histories of both cohort and generation. The book is based on extensive analysis over two years of large UK survey data sets and charts the changes in the experience of later life in the UK over the last 50 years. Individual chapters address social change and later life, the 'third age' in consumer society, concepts of age, cohort and generation, inequalities in income and expenditure and the evolution of health and social policy.The book will appeal to students, lecturers, researchers and policy analysts. It will provide material for teaching on undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses in sociology, social policy and social gerontology. It will also have considerable appeal to private industry engaged with older consumers as well as to voluntary and non-governmental organisations addressing ageing in Britain.