Consumer Behaviour and Alienation in the Gig Economy

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This doctoral research will investigate the relationship between consumer behaviour within the gigeconomy and the social pathology of alienation. Many studies of alienation emphasise the effects onworkers. However, gig-economy workers consist of a relatively small number of people. More numerousand more significant in driving the gig economy and fostering its alienating social relations areconsumers. Alienation has been critiqued due to the concept's essentialist foundations, and its use haddeclined. Rahel Jaeggi (2014) is attempting to de-essentialise and revive the concept, which sheunderstands as the impairment of, or impediment to, "appropriation". However, Jaeggi'sconceptualisation arises from her specific ontology, and her examples relate to a narrow section ofsociety. Consequently, Jaeggi's formulation does not provide a concrete empirical method for exploration.A study of alienation that encompasses consumer behaviour within the gig economy would: be morewidely applicable, provide a fuller explanation, enable a diagnosis and development of strategies toameliorate alienating relations, better enabling individuals to "appropriate". Primary data will becollected by conducting interviews and focus groups in the UK and Iceland. A comparison of the UK withIceland, which I hypothesise is relatively less alienated, will illuminate how consumer behaviour andalienation within the gig economy environment is experienced in different societal contexts. Discourseanalysis will follow each interview and focus group. This research will complement existing studies thatfocus on workers, and will provide a fuller understanding of complex alienating relations.