“Consuming the Right Way?!”: Consumer Education and the Government of the Self

Didactic concepts of consumer education often lean on paradigms such as consumer sovereignty and sustainability. From a socio-economic education view, that seeks to convey a (self-)critical perspective, this is problematic because orientation on socio-political paradigms is associated with the hazard of individualization of responsibility. An empirical investigation among social sciences teachers demonstrates that the idea of individual responsibility influences not only consumer and educational policy, but also consumer education. The research findings are discussed in relation to the subjectification discourse of cultural studies. Conclusions are drawn for socio-economic consumer education.