Understanding Conservatism in Turkish Society in the Light of Pierre Bourdieu’s ’Habitus’

With the social effects of liberal policies and being integrated into the capitalist system, particularly after the 1980s, Turkish society has experienced a change both culturally and structurally. This transformation has paved the way for orientation to religion, tradition, and conservatism among the working class and the capital class owners. Therefore, the conservative wing that tries to associate religious values with consumer values and enables the emergence of a hybrid eclectic culture began to create a lifestyle for themselves with the impact of consumer society values. As cognitive structures themselves have their roots, and the societal reality structure is not a void, conservative people’s societal realities were shaped by their acquired patterns of thought, behaviour, and taste that determine their habitus. Accordingly, this article shows the relationship between conservative social lifestyle and Pierre Bourdieu’s ’habitus’ that plays a significant role in deciding lifestyle, the emerging and planning choices of everyday life.

Keywords: Conservatism; Habitus; Lifestyle; Consumer society; Social structure