Papers - Conference 2009 - Institute of Latin American Studies

Consumption society challenged: Brazil’s landless workers’movement and the urge for another worldAuthor: Niklas Stephanniklas_stephan@student.gu.seAbstract: This paper discusses the landless workers‟ movement of Brazil (MST) within aglobal framework. Three central concepts for this discussion are: consumption, empowermentand the Gramscian concept of hegemony. In such perspective, MST is understood as acounter-hegemonic movement. In its opposing position towards the consumption drivendiscursive globalization process, also known as neo-liberalism, MST is in this paper seen as aparticipating actor in what can be understood as globalization from below. Put in relation tothe concept of empowerment this paper also discusses, analyzes and problematizes strategiesof MST and other civil society actors. Such analysis calls for questions regardingrepresentation and power relations, and points out the importance of empirical research as onegoes along trying to understand phenomena such as MST as well as the local and globalimplications they might have.Keywords: landless workers‟ movement (MST), neo-liberalism, globalization, counterhegemony,consumption, empowerment, food-sovereignty