Consuming Power: A Marxist Critique of Consumerism, Class, and Political Economy in Omar Shahid Hamid’s The Party Worker

Abstract

This study examines the representation of consumerism, class hierarchy, and political economy in The Party Worker through a Marxist critical framework. Set within the socio-political environment of urban Pakistan, the novel exposes the ways capitalist power structures, ideological manipulation, and material desire shape political authority and social relations. Drawing upon the theories of Karl Marx, Antonio Gramsci, and Louis Althusser, this research explores concepts such as commodity fetishism, hegemony, ideology, and class struggle to analyze how consumer culture functions as a mechanism of domination and social control in the narrative. Using a qualitative textual analysis and interpretivist approach, the study investigates the relationship between economic privilege, political corruption, and urban capitalist structures portrayed in the novel. The findings suggest that consumerism operates not only as a cultural practice but also as an ideological force that reinforces class inequality, alienation, and exploitation within society. Furthermore, the study argues that the novel critiques the interconnectedness of capitalism and political violence by revealing how material aspirations and economic interests influence both individual identity and collective social structures. By situating The Party Worker within Marxist literary criticism and postcolonial political economy, this research contributes to contemporary scholarship on Pakistani literature, capitalist ideology, and class-based power relations in South Asian fiction.

Keywords: Marxism, Consumerism, Pakistani Literature, Class Struggle, Political Economy

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20205202