Criticism of consumerism in postmodernist discourse

Objective of the study is to consider the postmodern approach to consumerism based on the analysis of the novel “Fight Club” by Charles Palahniuk.   The methodological basis of the research is hermeneutic and interdisciplinary approaches to the study of culture as a text, as well as the provisions of the linguistic concept of F. de Saussure and the theory of consumer society (J. Baudrillard, G. Debord). Research results. The article examines the problem of constructing postmodern identity through the consumption of goods and human involvement in consumer practices. Misconceptions regarding the cultural and philosophical ideology of consumerism are analyzed. It is shown that in a consumer society, objects are used as signs, differentials, and the transition from the “ideal” to the “image” or from the signified to the signifier blurs the boundary between reality and “spectacle”, contributing to the formation of borderline postmodern identities. The author emphasizes that the simulacra of consumer society lead a person to alienation and loss of true meaning in life.   Prospects of the study. The problem of understanding the destructive nature of the consumer society is of scientific interest due to the need to understand the importance of changes in the ideological attitudes and behavior patterns of modern people.