Abstract:This dissertation applies Anthony Giddens' theories of lifestyle and life politics to understanding "green markets," in this case to the introduction of Zero Emission Vehicles to the automobile market in California. Giddens' lifestyle-structuration approach is compared to other approaches to understanding consumer society, specifically Christopher Lasch's theory of narcissistic society, Jean Baudrillard's political economy of signs and Pierre Bourdieu's political economy of practice. Giddens' analytical framework for approaching lifestyle is expanded, and a set of empirical methods including ethnography, activities diaries, focus groups and gaming techniques are evaluated in light of lifestyle theory. I discuss the central role of automobiles in the development of post-traditional, lifestyle based identity, and analyze the lifestyle uses of automobiles by fifty-one households who kept one week travel diaries. The thesis concludes with a discussion of the rise of green consumerism as a form of life politics, the institutional rebirth of the electric vehicle as a "green" car, and finally, I present the results of four market research projects conducted between 1989 and 1994 on the potential response of California households to the introduction of electric vehicles to the automobile market.

Note:Ph.D. Dissertation