In the first chapters of our work, we explored how the ideology of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and socially responsible (SR) consumption operates through strategies of individualizing guilt, thereby limiting collective and political approaches to addressing the problem. We based our analysis on a psychoanalytic (Lacanian) theoretical framework, complemented by empirical research. The aim of our study was to connect Lacan's psychoanalysis with contemporary neuroscience concepts and classical marketing models to demonstrate Lacan's relevance for analyzing modern consumer society. In the subsequent part, we conducted a survey among consumers to investigate how the structures of socially responsible consumption relate to consumer behavior. From the empirical data, we found that: (1) consumers experience guilt in the context of SR consumption, (2) this feeling is not solely a consequence of transgressions but is an omnipresent emotion, (3) this guilt motivates consumers to purchase SR products, and (4) it increases their emphasis on the importance of individual actions while simultaneously diminishing their belief in the possibility and effectiveness of systemic change. Our research highlights the need for a shift in approach in both policy and science.
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