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Abstract
Globalization in its current instantiation is the fusion of capitalism and advanced technologies, also called “techno-capital”. It produces forces that both homogenize and differentiate identity. Contemporary globalization has impacted the social, cultural, economic, technological, and environmental realms; fostered transformations of identity; and, helped to new forms of subjectivity. While globalization is the dominant hegemony of the present age, consumerism has become the basis of its wealth. The current practice of consumerism fosters certain forms of identity (such asself at play, expressed in spectacles, games, and hedonistic lifestyles) where fantasies of the self can be articulated in virtual realms. The problematic of contemporary identity can be seen in various debates over hegemony, resistance social fragmentation, identity politics, or youth cultures. Moreover, insofar as consumer based identities are dependent on commodities and commoditized commodities to the realms of identity giving rise to new postmodern articulations of alienation. In this paper, we argue that those identity formation sustain contemporary hegemony do so at the cost of alienated subjectivities. It is posited that the various articulations of identity instantiate the problematic of alienation and identity in our current would seek to overcome this alienation through political action. While small minorities celebrate capitalist globalization, especially through consumerism, the new forms of wealth and power alienate the masses. In sum, the objective of this paper is to seek the relation between globalization, consumerism, and identity and how the interplay of these factors promotes unsustainable consumption practices.