Globalization, Work and Culture: the phenomenon of “symbolic consumption”. From Neil Postman to Immanuel Wallerstein

The article examines the relationship between globalization and culture, with an emphasis on the phenomenon of symbolic consumption. It adopts a sociological approach, starting from theoretical foundations and introducing the concept of globalization not as a simple economic process, but as a stage of late capitalism, full of contradictions and cultural rearrangements. The basic argument is that globalization is not only about the unification of markets, but also about the systematic transformation of culture through work and consumption. In the new cultural context, goods - and the work within them - are consumed not for their practical value, but for the symbolic meaning they carry. The desire of modern man for social recognition and self-realization is channeled through consumption, which becomes an act of identity and existence. The article concludes by linking symbolic consumption to the structural dysfunction of capitalism, as presented by Wallerstein, as well as to the ideological imposition of entertainment and progress, as analyzed by Postman. Especially through the doctrine of “Keep up with the Joneses”, consumption is transformed into a compulsory social practice, in which the individual participates not only to survive, but to exist.