OLD-PEOPLE AS USERS AND CONSUMERS OF HEALTH-CARE - A 3RD AGE RHETORICFOR A 4TH AGE REALITY

This paper is concerned with the emergence of consumerism as a dominan t theme in the culture surrounding the organisation and provision of w elfare in contemporary societies. In it we address the dilemmas produc ed by a consumerist discourse for older people's healthcare, dilemmas which may be seen as the conflicting representations of third age and fourth age reality. We begin by reviewing the appearance of consumeris m in the recent history of the British healthcare system, relating it to the various reforms of healthcare over the last two decades and the more general development of consumerism as a cultural phenomenon of t he post World War II era. The emergence of consumer culture, we argue, is both a central theme in post-modernist discourse and a key element in the political economy of the New Right. After examining criticisms of post-modernist representational politics, the limitations of consu merism and the privileged position given to choice and agency within c onsumerist society, we consider the relevance of such critical perspec tives in judging the significance of the user/consumer movement in the lives of retired people.