In some principles textbooks of the mid-20th century, the term "dollar voting" was used to describe the process by which consumers' choices influence firms' production decisions.
The goals of selective boycotts, or dollar voting, have been diverse, including cutting corporate revenues, removal of key executives, and reputational damage.
[2] As a public choice theorist, Buchanan considered economic participation by the individual to be a form of pure democracy.
[3][non-primary source needed] Also known as political consumerism, the history of dollar voting in the United States can be traced back to the American Revolution, when colonists boycotted several British products in protest of taxation without representation.
[7] Dollar voting also could dissuade citizens from law-making efforts to check unmitigated self-interest in firms and consumers, instead shifting this responsibility over to the market.