Publication (142 pages).

HOARDING IN A LIQUID
MODERN SOCIETY
The above constructions of hoarding are developed
in frames that emphasize individual conduct. They
focus on the ways in which individuals behave in
society and the subsequent reactions to those behaviours.
While they recognize hoarding as a behaviour stemming from
increased accumulation and a lack of discard, they look solely
to the individual to explain why those behaviours are occurring.
They then attempt to remedy the situation by either labeling the
behaviour as a disease and prescribing medical intervention, or
by encouraging moral campaigners to advocate ‘normal’ levels
of cleanliness and organization to produce self-regulation. Both
constructions suggest that the behaviour is wrong or bad and
causes harm. Neither considers the social structures that may
influence the behaviours. I encourage an alternative approach
to hoarding behaviour that adds consideration for changing
social structures in society. I emphasize the relationship between
the objective conditions
of hoarding, accumulation and
a lack of discard, and the current
state of consumer society. Although
social theorists have yet
to make a connection between
consumer culture and hoarding,
both topics contain similar
aspects of accumulation and
discard. In addition to consideration
for the objective conditions
of hoarding, I add my own
subjective approach that places
hoarding within a liquid modern
framework. The conflicts in
space and time that constitute
current society can be said to create conditions that are ideal
for hoarding behaviour to occur, accounting for its increasing
presence in society. This approach also allows for a questioning
of hoarding’s classification as a ‘problem’; if the objective conditions
of hoarding are naturally occurring due to societal chang-
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