In 1600 the word ‘consumption’ was a term of medical pathology describing the ‘wasting, petrification of things’. By 1700 it was also a term of economic discourse: ‘In commodities, the value rises as its quantity is less and vent greater, which depends upon it being preferred in its consumption’. The article traces the emergence of this key category of economic analysis to debates over the economy in the 1620s and subsequent disputes over the excise tax, showing how ‘consumption’ was an early term in the developing lexicon of political economy. In so doing the article demonstrates the important role of ‘intoxicants’—that is, addictive and intoxicating commodities like alcohols and tobaccos—in shaping these early meanings and uses of ‘consumption’. It outlines the discursive importance of intoxicants, both as the foci for discussions of ‘superfluous’ and ‘necessary’ consumption and the target of legislation on consumption. It argues that while these discussions had an ideological dimension, or dimensions, they were also responses to material increases in the volume and diversity of intoxicants in early seventeenth‐century England. By way of conclusion the article suggests the significance of the Low Countries as a point of reference for English writers, as well as a more capacious and semantically sensitive approach to changes in early modern consumption practices.

中文翻译：

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麻醉剂和“消费”的发明 

1600年，“消费”一词是医学病理学的术语，描述了“事物的浪费，石化”。到1700年，它还成为经济论述的术语：“在商品中，价值随着数量的减少和排放的增加而上升，这取决于它在消费中的优先地位”。这篇文章将这一经济分析的关键类别的出现追溯到1620年代有关经济的辩论以及随后的消费税纠纷，表明“消费”在政治经济学的发展词典中是一个早期术语。通过这样做，本文证明了“麻醉剂”（即上瘾和令人上瘾的商品，如酒精和烟草）在塑造这些“消费”的早期含义和用途中的重要作用。它概述了麻醉剂的话语重要性，既是讨论“多余”和“必需”消费的重点，又是消费立法的目标。它认为，尽管这些讨论具有一个或多个意识形态方面的内容，但它们也是对17世纪早期英格兰毒物数量和多样性的物质增加的反应。作为结论，本文提出了“低地国家”作为英国作家的参考点的重要性，以及对早期现代消费实践的变化采取了更为宽容和语义敏感的方法。它们也是对17世纪初期英格兰毒物数量和多样性的物质增加的反应。作为结论，本文提出了“低地国家”作为英国作家的参考点的重要性，以及对早期现代消费实践的变化采取了更为宽容和语义敏感的方法。它们也是对17世纪初期英格兰毒物数量和多样性的物质增加的反应。作为结论，本文提出了“低地国家”作为英国作家的参考点的重要性，以及对早期现代消费实践的改变采取了更为宽容和语义敏感的方法。