Abstract
This paper explores self as a site of consumption. Arguing that most views of self are caught in a production metaphor, the paper goes on to suggest that the limitations to Mary Douglas's theory of consumption lies in its lack of theorizing in terms of consumption of self. The paper then examines the notions of extension and exchange as they have been elaborated by Marilyn Strathern. Pointing out that there can be no ‘return’ from extension to a core self, merely exchange to another configuration, the paper illustrates how appropriation of artefacts makes possible performance on a scale.
When the ‘inner’ life of a person which is opposed to the externality of the social life is exalted, when the individual is called upon to return to himself, in order to become emancipated from pressure, briefly, when the ‘social I’ is characterized as the ‘superficial I’, as opposed to the ‘profound V … a flagrant error of analysis is committed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.