New consumption “habitus” among young rural wage earners. The case of the Ecuadorian highlands

Abstract:

This article analyzes the process of integration into new consumption patterns of young rural wage earners in a territory of the Ecuadorian highlands, where flower and broccoli agribusinesses predominate. We seek to show the structural conditions that allow young wage earners to adopt new habitus closer to the consumption of global goods, a process narrowly related to their position in the social field. In the first part, we analyze the relationship between consumption and habitus in rural areas from different sociological theoretical perspectives. In the second part, based on a case study, we address consumption trends among rural youth. The third part reflects on the importance of new consumption patterns among young wage earners through access to two types of global merchandise (motorcycle and cell phone) that have become new symbolic and prestige objects.

Keywords:
Young rural wage earners; Consumption; Habitus change; Agribusiness; Social field