Consumption has long been more than just an appendage of production. Rather, it has become a universal system of signs in which hedonistic consumer desires and moral critiques of consumption coexist side by side. In this sense, consumption integrates society and simultaneously serves as a mirror for it, and for individuals, it is the ideal medium for self-discovery. For Baudrillard, consumption thus constitutes and characterizes the culture of our society; it is an order of meanings akin to language or the kinship system in primitive societies. "The Consumer Society" is a central work by Jean Baudrillard that has received little attention in the German-speaking world, now presented in its first German translation.