Philippe Moati is a professor of economics at the Paris-Diderot University. Previously Director of Research at Crédoc, he is now Co-President of the Observatoire Société et Consummation (Obsoco). Notable publications include L’avenir de la grande distribution (The Future of Big Retail) and La Nouvelle revolution commerciale (The New Commercial Revolution)


Hyperconsumption undermines social cohesion and “living together” .
What is the role of economics and, in particular, consumption in the crisis of lost direction that affects societies?

What are the capitalist forces that lead to hyperconsumption? And how does this hyperconsumption create a vacuum around itself?

For Philipe Moati, we are living a dangerous paradox: while capitalism has never before so powerfully exacerbated our wish to consume, it does not provide us with the means to do so, and this generates frustration and exclusion. Production and consumption used to march to the same rhythm in the days of Fordism and the post-war boom of “Les trente glorieuses”, but that has now changed. In its ceaseless quest for outlets, capitalism has extended the sphere of commerce to include our emotions and human needs. And, in filling that void that it has created, hyperconsumption has imposed itself as a fundamental tool in constructing our identities.

With a fine analysis of the diverse mechanisms of hyperconsumption, Philippe Moati shows how they undermine social bonds and cohesion, creating a need for better things of all kinds. He suggests ways out of this that do not exclude consumption but, on the contrary, makes use of it to promote a economy based on what he calls “useful effects.”


A highly original thesis on new technologies and the collaborative economy (Uber, Blablacar, Airbnb etc), which are at the same time the ultimate stage of capitalism and the pillar of a new model of consumption.
Many examples of different types of consumption (osentatious, cultural, branding) and of the techniques that incite us to consume (the service economy, experience marketing…)
The latest data on the buying power of the French population and their consumption, from basic needs to the latest technologies.