Perhaps the greatest single omission from mainstream theories of consumption is geopolitics. Economists tend to focus on individuals seeking to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. Sociologists, meanwhile, see consumption as a sign of emulation and distinction between groups. Other writers look at mentalities, such as the romantic imagination, with its dream-like disposition for future pleasure, or at practices, such as cooking or home improvement. Global power is conspicuous by its absence from all these approaches. Conversely, the classic theorists of imperialism had little to say about the desire, appropriation and use of things. For J. A. Hobson, Heinrich Friedjung and Joseph Schumpeter, all writing in the immediate aftermath of the European scramble for Africa in the late nineteenth century, imperialism was driven by finance capitalism, aggressive nationalism, or an ‘atavistic’ aristocracy that was clinging on to feudal power and glory. Consumers featured, if at all, as victims of a jingoist conspiracy that enriched the few at the expense of the many (Trentmann 119).
Trentmann, Frank. ”Imperium of Things.” Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First. Penguin Books, 2017, pp. 119-173.