Consumption is a key mediator of the environmental impact of human population on this planet. The prospects for a sustainable future with 10 or more billion people, consuming at present North American levels, are quite dim. There has been a good deal of social science research on the forces that impel and restrain consumption, but this literature has rarely been directly connected to environmental issues. This article discusses different scenarios for the development and growth of consumer culture, challenging the utility of strictly diffusionary emulation models. Instead, heterogeneity and divergence in levels of consumption is likely, far into the future. Theories of consumption are surveyed, and avenues for future research are suggested.
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