''Homo consumericus'' ( mock Latin for consumerist person) is a

neologism In linguistics, a neologism (; also known as a coinage) is any newly formed word, term, or phrase that has achieved popular or institutional recognition and is becoming accepted into mainstream language. Most definitively, a word can be considered ...

used in social sciences, notably by Gilles Lipovetsky in ''Le Bonheur Paradoxal'' (2006) and Gad Saad in his 2007 book, ''The Evolutionary Bases of Consumption'' According to these and other scholars, the phenomenon of mass consumption can be compared to certain traits of human psychology described by evolutionary scientists pointing out similarities between

Darwinian ''Darwinism'' is a term used to describe a theory of biological evolution developed by the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) and others. The theory states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural sele ...

principles and

consumer behavior Consumer behaviour is the study of individuals, groups, or organisations and all activities associated with the purchase, use and disposal of goods and services. It encompasses how the consumer's emotions, attitudes, and preferences affe ...

. Lipovetsky has noted that modern times have brought about the rise of a "third" type of ''Homo consumericus'', who is unpredictable and insatiable. A similar expression, ''Homo Consumens'', was used by

Erich Fromm Erich Seligmann Fromm (; ; March 23, 1900 – March 18, 1980) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and set ...

in ''Socialist Humanism'', written in 1965. Fromm wrote: "Homo consumens is the man whose main goal is not primarily to ''own'' things, but to ''consume'' more and more, and thus to compensate for his inner vacuity, passivity, loneliness, and anxiety." The expression ''Homo Consumens'' has been used by several other authors, including

Mihailo Marković Mihailo Marković ( sr-cyr, Михаило Марковић; 24 February 1923 – 7 February 2010) was a Serbs, Serbian philosopher who gained prominence in the 1960s and 1970s as a proponent of the Praxis School, a Marxist humanism, Marxist hum ...

.Mihailo Marković, "Economism or the Humanization of Economics"
''Praxis'', international edition, 1969, no. 3–4, p. 452.

References

{{Reflist, 33em Evolutionary biology Selection Concepts in social philosophy Consumer Dog Latin words and phrases

See also

References