The following thesis is the product of a heartfelt concern for the preservation of the Danish welfare system, which appears to be under strain. Accordingly our primary goal is to locate those problems that are within our reach and contribute with achievable solutions. As scholars in communications our means of involvement prospectively lies within the field of marketing, social analysis and aesthetics, which will also be our point of departure. Studying the problems of the welfare system has led us past various social issues, citizen identities, policy areas and much more, and during this research one particular issue kept on capturing our attention: a new type of citizen identity which behaves quite strange compared to what the Danish society has ever seen before. We are talking about The Consumerist Citizen, which potentially will influence the future Danish welfare system fundamentally. The distinctiveness of this particular citizen identity is comprehensive and likewise some of their buzzwords are dynamics and changeability. Nevertheless, if we should point out some obvious traits of this identity type, they contain a previously unseen mix between socialism and liberalism, are relatively well educated, they represent an expanding group in society and most disturbingly some of them are acting quite selfish and egocentric. The latter is expressed in their attitude towards the public welfare, as some of them do not possess the will to postpone their needs for the benefit of others and the society as a whole. This is one of the reasons why the public debate in Denmark often comes to entitlement mentality, and if we are to save the welfare system, we might need to rediscover some of the cultural virtues of the traditional ages.
To help us solve the problems at hand, our intention is to implement a communication strategy, and through comprehensive theory, empirical data collection and analysis, try to identify exactly which options we have for influencing a change in behaviour of the egocentric consumerist citizens. The involving theoretical basis for the thesis will be based on Professor Johannes Andersen’s (et.al.) studies, but supplemented and developed so it fits our communicative approach. Our empirical data collection will be based on a pluralistic scientific method that combines the strengths of quantitative and qualitative studies. In this way we hope to be able to identify consumerist citizens in the Danish society, study their way of life, and most importantly, acquire as much knowledge about the motivations and influences of this civic identity, which will help us in the appeal for change in their attitude and behaviour to the benefit of society and ultimately helping the Danish welfare system.