Political Consumerism and Cosmopolitanism. A Study of Post-Conventional Political Participation in Spain

Abstract

This research paper seeks to confi rm the hypothesis according to which
political consumerism can be considered a form of political participation
that cosmopolitanism is helping to develop. After analysing the theoretical
implications of this hypothesis, the study presents an operationalization
of cosmopolitanism which shows its greater presence among those
individuals who have bought or boycotted products for ethical, political
or environmental reasons. This is followed by a further verifi cation of
the association between cosmopolitanism and political consumerism,
controlling for the effect of the main socio-demographic variables on the
latter. The study confi rms the hypothesis that political consumption can
be regarded as a form of political participation related to cosmopolitanism.