Part 1 of this weblog
previously described how increasingly vocalised and so visible social
trends have become almost enigmatically integrated with the process
of consumerism. This from everyday items such as a daily branded
coffee through to aspects of conspicuous consumption, with the
examples of 1980s Benetton adverts, 1990s 'Fur is Murder' T-shirts,
2000s Starbucks Coffee and 2010s idiom of 'Fair Trade' supermarket
goods. Others have obviously since followed.
It was also explained
that since such post-modern “philosophical determinates” have
become increasingly engrained in FMCG and broader retail consumer
culture, so likewise – although more remote in terms of product
proposition and brand identity - the auto-sector would be wise to
better appreciate the increasingly philosophical nature of purchase
and usage: beyond the obvious mass-consciousness focus on reduced
ecological damage and greater use of recycled and recyclable
components, and the immediate business-bound limitations of
traditional marketing research (products, brand and users).
Instead, to solidify
(as practicable) the often very nebulous 'skunk-work' efforts which
take place in a very ad hoc manner by questioning minds within design
and marketing departments.
To this end, whether
undertaken in an official capacity as part of an ongoing or periodic
'scenario planning' process, or more narrowly but deeply by internal
'forecaster' (as per the likes of BT), it would serve auto-makers to
grow their field of understanding and vision, and not fall into the
immediate trap of believing that uni-directional 'eco-planning' of
products and processes, and associated 'eco-branding' regards mass
market advertising, is enough.
To do so means an
effort to listen and see as to what has gone, and what is going on,
beyond the “goldfish bowl” of the sector and its immediate
corporate and sector issues and the increasingly temporary created
reality of heavily media propelled contemporary consumer culture.
[NB the very recent
scandal around VW Group's emissions test 'defeat device', within the
ECU software design of over 11,000,000 vehicles, with the possibility
of other car-makers using similar tactics, will presently obviously
absorb executives and senior management, Yet additional focus on such
less immediately tangible social trends when feasible could rebalance
any overt customer focus on ecological issues. Essentially, whilst
eco remains vitally important, perhaps “a greater number of eggs in
greater number of (consumer) baskets”.]
The obvious goal is to
see the bigger societal picture, even as it increasingly fragments
with new and evolved old social tribes associated belief systems and
behaviour patterns.
There was mention of
the likes of Slavoj Zizek, and the need for corporations to
appreciate his mode of inter-connected societal thinking, even if as
capitalistic entities, hardly endeared to his neo-Marxist
self-description. The fact is that the social sciences in academic
circles have been massively influential to the media since the 1920s
and more so since likes of 1960s Satre and 1980s Baudrillard.
The subject 'Critical
Theory' then has invariably affected the more recent development of
western nations during their information-led development. Hence, more
than a cursory interest by the largest companies (auto-makers
obviously amongst them) is increasingly necessary so as to understand
what broad context is driving the short, medium and long term
futures.
To this end the
remainder of the poignant topics encompassed by 'Critical Theory's'
listed in an uncurated A-Z manner follows:
'Longue Durée'
– the French expression for (obviously) 'long duration', proferred
by the 'Annalis' school of the mid C20th, and focuses upon the slow
processes of historical change that are almost imperceptible to
individuals living through time periods. Relative to economic theory
it relates to the availability and pricing of commodities, shifts in
demographics and trade cycles and latterly that of climate change
(pros and cons). Central is the 'seriality' of measured and
quantified trends. The history of 'mentalities' also places emphasis
on the underlying structural dimensions, such an the type of epoch /
era (eg Feudalism vs Industrialisation vs Information-Age).
[NB
Intentionally overtly long in scale and specific in targeted
measurement, 'longue duree' appears too immense and far to a
generalised theorem to be of use to the corporate world. Yet
understanding contexts, especially radically shifted economic times,
as seen historically and seen since 2008, does indeed provide
backdrop understanding. Albeit with the understanding that since the
C19th massive expansion of money markets, the discontinuation of the
gold standard, “manufactured money” and “quick fire base rate”
policy responses – ie the mechanics of the economy - have (as seen)
dramatically altered what were once very drawn-out recessions.
Consumer culture created by industrialisation effectively demanded a
new rapid response economic model. Yet still the past offers a
partially applicable guide].
'MacKinnon-Dworkin
Model Law' – A legislative model for the suppression of
pornography, drafted in 1983, stating that pornography is a practice
of sex discrimination, given the graphic and sexually explicit
subordination of women through use of pictures or words. Relates
primarily to trafficking, coercion and force upon the individual.
“Pornography does not depict sexual degradation, it is sexual
degradation”. Opposed by libertarians and specific anti-censorship
groups (inc. feminist groups) it was refuted by the American Supreme
Court in 1984, it was partially incorporated by Canada in 1992.
[NB Whereas once
pornography was typically magazine publishing based, and then
video-based, today's proliferation of internet based porn, often from
amateur or seemingly amateur sources, has massively altered the
social context since MacKinnon-Dworkin was debated. Whereas
unquestionably the yesteryear industry located in specific locales
and certain groups did traffic, coerce and force, today's contextual
sphere is that of a socially absorbed and much 'normalised'
pornography unfortunately accessible by all. The intentional early
days creation of amateur porn coincided with the increased
affordability of new video technologies, so prompting an explosion in
real and fake amateur porn. This has snowballed, and with it what
appears an obvious increase in sexual degradation, coercion and force
to satiate very much increased and quickly bored viewership.
Simultaneously seeing national and global expansion of willing and
unwilling participants of all legal ages, with the arena of
fetishistic porn now very much expanded to fill created niches,
including the (once deemed freakishness) of dual-gender participants
within the 'transhumanism' movement). Seemingly lost in time, today
more that ever then the 'MacKinnon-Dworkin' should be reviewed, and
such efforts could be possibly incorporated into new 'responsible
porn' campaigns by avante garde companies in an attempt to have the
mass populace think about its direct personal effects and overall
societal effect...amounting to “radical conservatism”].
Marxism – A body of
thought created by Marx and Engels describing an alternative ideology
to capitalism, it became a powerful force across the USSR, China,
Eastern Bloc, Cuba and Latin America from the early C20th through to
the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, when regarded as an increasingly
failed system relative to the national development progress of
capitalist countries. However, that ideal of mass equality still
resonates with many, especially in times of economic malaise and very
real hardship, and through the populist propaganda of idealism, the
struggle for which is personified in a hyper-real manner by historic
revolutionary heroes. To summarise, Marx believed that the 'surplus
value' inherent in a product or service, recognised as profitability
arose from an inherently unscrupulous process whereby a “fair day's
wage for a fair day's work” is meaningless since wages are always
paid on an unfair basis. Ultimately, the system cannot be reformed
and so must be over-thrown given capitalism's negative (zero-sum)
outcomes between the bourgeoisie and proletariat. At the same time it
destroys human relations given the reality of naked self-interest. In
stark contrast, Communism's manifesto aim was to “establish an
association of citizens in which the free development of each is the
condition for the free development of all.
[NB The idealism of
Communism has indeed seen varying levels of systematic success given
its previous wide adoption. However, the fact is that in reality
Communist idealism when put into practice has been plagued by
corruption and abuse at many levels, from tyrannical leader to
policeman to school-teacher to factory head to distributor to black
marketeer. Whereas the 'naturally' balancing supply and demand
function of capitalism (largely) precludes such levels of corruption
(and especially engrained and normalised corruption). This so given
the workings of the value chain pricing model – typically from
heavily centralised primary sources gaining economies to scale to the
infusion of phased added value to very decentralised end sales
points. The restructuring of industries, as required after big
economic recessions, undertaken to re-generate profitability.
Moreover, the prime argument against strict Communism is that it
inevitably deters progress, given that personal achievement is
unrewarded (especially relative to social or economic impact, and
that lacklustre contribution – below the ideological average - is
relatively over-rewarded. This is why the USSR and others in reality
did grade and reward its theoretically equal workers separately].
'Masquerade' – the
notion that femininity is a masquerade, or matter of acting out a
role (Riviere 1929) which fits the historical masculine ideal.
However it was noted (in mid C20th) that even those women in
positions of authority (conventionally 'masculine') habitually sought
approval from father figures by adopting exaggeratedly feminine or
even flirtatious behaviour. This hypothesises as a reaction to ward
off possible male aggression. Little description of the
characteristics of a 'real woman' vs 'masquerade woman'. First airing
of the idea that gender is a social construct, less a matter of
biology, more “a matter of performance”.
[NB the hypothesis “to
ward off possible male aggression” helps to underpin the early
tenets of Feminism, which increasingly even then in a far more
structured society of deference, and certainly today appears hollow.
The idea of 'gender as construct' was literally played-out to create
new social ambiguities by various Berlin popular theatres and film
during the Weimar Republic (ie populist Marlene Dietrich dressing
sexily in man's dinner suit attire). As similarly with London's
Bloomsbury Set, 'gender construct' central to the “progressive”
freedoms sought by upper middle-class homosexuals and via role-play
transvestitism in 'bright young thing' parties held by the overtly
liberal-left intelligentsia. However, the terrible German privation
which emanated from the 1929 Wall St crash - itself viewed by the
common person as intentionally created by a small sect within the
elite – began to perceive such libertine gatherings as morally
debasing. This then has much relevance to today, as the sexual
margins of not so long ago are increasingly broadcast as 'new
mainstream'. For those who are typically older, responsible and
aware, and typically conservative ex-immigrant people (who are now
well settled and rightly able to voice their opinion), now may be the
tipping-point for what thus far has been a very repressed
anti-feeling in an overt PC atmosphere. Moreover the blurring of
sexual identities - most powerfully through psycho-sexual association
in pornography and sexually orientated forums – appears to be a
driving force in seeking to possibly create new social constructs of
weak vs strong tribal identities, (eg the trend for cuckolding
hitherto masculine men, unfortunately deploying racial stereotyping
to do so, so as to erode white male self esteem, and the
“feminazification” of younger women. Gender and pyscho-sexual
issues seemingly unfortunately dividing western societies, where more
than ever cohesion is required].
'Modernism' – used to
describe a variety of tendencies within European (ie Anglo-American)
literature and art in the early C20th. Virginia Woolf (one of the
Bloomsbury Set) proclaimed “in or about December 1910 the human
character changed”, though more commonly 1922 is seen as the
watershed year given the publication of radical literature. Seeking
to break historical 'grande narratives' (Church, Monarchy etc), it
was often seen (for very good reason) as a Bolshevik threat.
Modernism sought opposing doctrines, from 'stream of consciousness'
novels (eg Ulysses) to the creation of stark architecture, through
use of scientific principles whereby 'form follows function'. As with
the earlier formation of 'futurism', its raison d'etre was a subtle
revolution to create anew, by sweeping away traditional social
constructs upon which incumbent power-bases had deployed and relied.
Part of Modernism's mantra was that socio-technical change was so
rapid that change as itself becomes a form of changelessness, (so
apparently providing opportunity for speedy, aligned changes in the
power structure, eg the Modernist propaganda rise of Communism of the
period).
'Narcissism' – the
love of one's own image. Used in the early pyscho-analysis as the
object-choice of older homosexuals who idolised young men who
resemble them. Thereafter adapted as an believed process by which the
libido is withdrawn from the outside world and directed toward the
ego. Freud accorded that narcissists display something of the very
young child's self-contentment and inaccessibility. The term also
used regards the manner in which the achieved or unachieved fantasy
aspirations of parents are projected onto their children's future
lives.
[NB the 'psycho-babble'
uses of the word are highly debatable. It appears that Freud chose to
intentionally utilise this word – already well absorbed the
Victorian era's love of classicism – as a powerful popular enabler
for later supposed 'diagnosis'. The fact is the natural outward
facing libido becomes very much diminished if any adult (young to
old) has had a truly abysmal, life shattering, experience. The longer
the bad experience, the more withdrawn s/he becomes. Given the
natural power of the libido it is one of the last psycho-physical
attributes to fade, and is arguably not turned inward to serve the
ego, as stated. The supposed 'narcissistic inaccessibility' is very
obviously a defence mechanism against the worst aspects of various
people or broad society. This seen in the previous Part 1 weblog with
the real-world reaction of real rape victims. As regards the use of
the term today, its utilisation has become almost everyday given the
effects of the camera-phone and almost limitless storage memory for
hundreds (if not thousands) of 'selfies'. The cyber-enabled 'mirror'
camera-phone, together with 24/7 celebrity imagery, social media
image portrayal and critically much reduced general responsibilities
of the individual, has obviously generated a broad culture of
narcissism, especially so amongst those in their youthful prime.
Whilst it is excusable for the youth in their prime, it has slowly
crept across nearly all ages groups, propelled by the “ten years
younger” culture].
'Newspeak' (News-Speak)
– an Orwellian term used in the book '1984' and used as common
currency since to disparagingly describe a form of either simplified
or oxymoronic communication, typically for propaganda purposes.
'1984' offers various slogans, the best known being 'war is peace'
[NB It has been noticed
that there are more and more subtle instances where the once
clear-cut media messages of the past (esp 1900s to 1970s) have become
either increasingly blurred with use of 'muddy' words / phrases, or
the original message of some current affairs articles is effectively
switched (usually in geo-political reporting), or quite obviously
where an article is deployed about one subject yet designed to
enhance a recently engrained perception on an altogether different
subject. The use of closely coupled or associative wording the
methodology. So not quite at the point where some editors have become
history re-writing Winston Smiths, but seemingly not too removed
either. Part of the loss of previously entrenched 'grande
narritives', supported by military might)].
'Organic Intellectual'
– a term created by Gramsci (1971) which recognises that whilst all
(wo)men are intellectuals - given that all human activity involves at
least some creative and intellectual activity – not all (wo)men
have the social function of intellectuals. Thus an error to
concentrate on the intrinsic nature or intellectual activity rather
than the system of relations that permit intellectual activity. Thus,
'intellectuals' described as 'traditional' (acting as subalterns of
the incumbent system) vs 'organic' (those rising classes or groups
which innovate to establish a new hegemony). Every fundamental social
group has its stratum of 'organic intellectuals', and the role of the
state or party is to weld both old and new varieties together so as
to form an hegonemic bloc. Gramsci understood the power of science
and technology in an increasingly complex society, itself creating
new 'organic intellectuals'; foreshadowing the role of knowledge
industries by the late C20th, at period since the production and
administration of knowledge became as at least important, if not more
important, as physical production.
[NB whilst Gramsci's
observation was hardly newly enlightening, given that the process had
been in place for nearly 200 years, it was a truism worth repeating
given the watershed point of the early 1970s, demonstrated by digital
calculators and watches; computerisation had moved well beyond the
confines of the lab. Critically, though the 'traditional' vs new
'organic' mentalities were seen in the split between entrenched
global and newly re-emerging corporations. Whilst the US, UK, and
most of the European car-makers having successfully ridden the C20th
wave, retained their old strictly hierarchical structures (with their
intrinsic foibles) those countries which had to start afresh after
WW2 and very importantly with an alternative, more cohesive, social
mindset, recognised the importance of utilising people's intellectual
capabilities below senior management, and in doing so were able to
improve production and procurement efficiencies aswell as
simultaneously raising quality standards. More than enough has been
written about Toyota's influence, with its improved systems adopted
by other Japanese, British, Americans and Koreans, but far less
recognition is given to the prowess in 'professional welding' of
internal capabilities in the German car industry. Both societies
(arguably still somewhat feudal under the surface) have been able to
exercise far more intellectualism from their corporate workers,
possibly because of innate ownership structures].
'Pan-Opticanism' –
'pan' and 'optic' (all-seeing) and coined by Foucault (1975)
describes a form of authoritarian power which relies not upon overt
repression but upon constant surveillance of a population and
'discipline' or the regimentation of the body. Initially used by the
Victorians in the 'hub and spoke' layouts of prisons, today a prime
aspect of advanced and emerging nations. The individual (prisoner)
never knows if he is being watched or not, and so is trapped by his
visibility and 'silent discipline'.
[NB this has obviously
come to pass with the installation in public spaces of cameras, in
city centtes ad trouble-spot neighbourhoods, and on roadways (speed
camera and general observation camera) as both an instruments of
safety, fee income and infrastructure efficiency. However, now beyond
the physical realm, the cyber realm has become even more remotely
observed as an individual's cyber interaction and so mental space,
may be remotely observed by state or corporations, given ever greater
privatisation of state functions].
'Post-Colonial Theory'
– a development of literary studies from 'commonwealth literature'
and what was previously termed '3rd world studies' to
analyse the global effects of European colonisation. Books such as
'Orientalism' (Said 1988) and 'The Empire Writes Back' (Ashcroft,
Griffiths and Tiffin 1989).
[NB a subject which may
be described as increasingly defunct as those large and small EM
countries increasingly create ever more expanding national cultures,
the content of which increasingly embraces indigenous culture vs
imported cultures (typically American). However, somewhat misleading
is the fact that 'post-colonial theory' is described as not simply
the context after national independence, but the influence of
colonisation from the initial time of colonisation to the present
day. Interesting is the manner in which the west seeks to retain
influence on ex-colonial cultures, such as the deployment of the
author Tiffin, whose name was adopted by the aspirant Indians under
the British Raj for light meal, taken from the civilities of
afternoon tea. A subject area which is set to become ever more
prominent in global popular culture as worldwide those people
affected by in various ways by colonialism (from freedom fighter to
4th generation immigrant) are prompted to configure their
own C21st identities].
'Post-Modernism' – a
term applied to a wide variety of cultural practices and theoretical
discourses associated with the 'post-modern experience', coming to
the fore during the 1970s onward. Names such as William Burrows,
Marshall McLuhan, John Barth and John Cage are viewed as the
harbingers of the subject area, with others such as Kurt Vonnegut and
Umberto Eco later proponents. The central aspect of much of this
writings was the deliberate paradoxes and contradictions used,
inter-playing genres and high and popular culture, so appealing to a
wide audience. This intellectual hybridisation was also recognised in
(typically American) architecture by critics such as Robert Venturi
in his 'Learning from Las Vegas', observing the eclectic and magical
results of largely 1950s 'pop-u-lux' styles, which themselves were
often brash comic novelty mixed with high-brow classicism.
Historically this evolved and ranged from “the decorated shed”
(eg first Vegas Casinos and Shopping Mall environments) to
“classicism with a twist” (eg Disney Corp's HQ and regeneration
of Las Vegas along the 'New Strip'). Charles Jencks named this
“double coding” by which two contrasting styles or more are
deployed, as 'knowing juxtapositions'. From the philosophical angle,
prime observers and instigators were the the likes of Jacques Derrida
and Jean Baudrillard, whilst Jean-Francois Lyotard argues that
'grande narratives' are long past and that 'little narratives' now
drive science, art and literature. Critical for him is the issue of
'scientific legitimacy' and the manner in which computerisation as
information machines has and will massively changed the power
structure of society; so much so that “one day for knowledge to be
considered useful it will have to be turned into computerized data,
leading to publication of 'The Inhuman'.
[NB as seen
'post-modernism' caught the wide academic consciousness by the
mid-1970s and had real-world physical affect by the mid-1980s with
the popularisation of a “simulacrum effect” becoming a wide and
diverse field and so impacting a range of creative disciplines. From
corporate architecture to the innately self-referential tropes and
characters that typically sit as part of the background in a digital
animation (eg the Toyota 'Pizza Planet' truck from Toy Story inserted
into most of Pixar's cartoon movies). Under post-modernism it then
appears that the two prime forces are then a) the physical world
being constructed and re-constructed around the imaginary, computer
created world of entertainment, and b) (as per Lyotard) the apparent
subjugation of individual and mass human activity under
computerisation, from leisure-time video-gaming by a wide age range,
to the capital goods replacement of the low skilled employed via the
computer. Exactly what the ultimate effects of (broadly termed)
'post-modernism' on western society at the macro and micro levels
remains to be seen, whether it causes a general “contentment
cohesiveness” or “reactionary fractures”].
'Projection' – in
what appears an ever more disfunctional, even angry western society,
the realm of psycho-analysis is being deployed to supposedly
understand such trends. 'Projection' is the Freudian developed
process which enables the subject to expel feelings. Used as an
underlying element in the diagnosis of supposed paranoia. As per a
supposed case of Freud in 1911, the phrase “I hate him” is
miraculously transformed by 'projection' to “he hates me and is
persecuting me”.
[NB In an increasing
world of 'bio-politics' – see previous weblog – as well as the
rise of the pharmaceutical sector regards old and new psychological
ills, we shall see an increase in so called 'professionals' who have
been trained in what is in reality the “pyscho-babble” of
Freudian processes and diagnosis. Once again, drawing a parallel to
the society of pre WW2 Germany is useful, wherein Viennese
'practicioners' such as Freud were developing structures of
psycho-analysis to supposedly meet patients' problems. The fact is
that these patients were largely drawn from the monied Christian
Austro-Hungarian aristocracy and upper middle classes, who in a
broader sense were themselves were under socio-economic attack from
the counter-veiling Bolshevicks. However, reading between the lines
of history, the patients themselves not so obviously attacked through
violence and social propaganda, but through the association and
assimilation. Certain tribes identified those who were both wealthy
and who were overtly liberal with socialist ideals; typically naïve
and open younger members of elite families. These were befriended by
Bolshevik members and sympathisers and the target would be
deliberately pyschologically hounded and damaged by their supposed
friends; so as to create very real personal mental problems and so
seek psychotherapeutic “help”. (Those who has greater social and
self awareness would thankfully escape). The Viennese
psycho-analysts, assuming (yet again) the character of friend and
helper would then disingenuously try to erase the patients actual,
natural and all too real understanding of his/her experiences, and
moreover seek-out further fears, so as to be preyed upon by remote
associates; aswell as also seeking to understand the inter-personal
structures of family and friends; critically finding out who else
might be likewise targeted. And so the process would be repeated. Since WW2 across North America,
Europe and elsewhere this “pyscho-babble”, looks to have been
preceded by long-term harassment, and has since been deployed in a
similar manner upon unsuspecting members of a much enlarged
middle-classes who have obtained independent wealth or who are set to
inherit sizeable fortunes.
'Risk Society' – an
expression deriving from the German sociologist Ulrich Beck, (1986)
of how risk – its calculation and probability – has become an
essential feature of modern societies. It is posited that the drive
toward ever greater technological domination of the natural world,
both raises living standards but also has high consequences of
associated risk, albeit at a low probability. Global warming,
chemical toxicity, ecological catastrophe etc, with nuclear accidents
(as seen in Chernobyl and NE Japan) the most prolific. Living with a
calculative attitude to such possibilities, typified by the use of
[previously described] “what if” counter-factuals, becomes an
essential feature of collective and individual life.
[NB the notion of risk
is of course fundamental to the original establishment of the
insurance sector, itself a primary element of today's massive global
financial services sector. The broad expansion of societal activities
and pursuits since the industrial revolution then applied the risk
thinking and calculation that was once effectively only really
applied to the fire risk of wooden buildings or to the storm sinking
of trade ships. (Many long-standing or since absorbed insurance
agents created after the Great Fire of London in 1666, and of course
the association of Lloyds of London with maritime). Today, risk spans
virtually every dimension of life, from the possibility of theft
whilst on holiday to the under-taking of dangerous sports through to
conventional commercial practices and now into the realms of very
specialised financial markets and instruments. Given the importance
of 'risk' today / tomorrow in terms of those payable premiums which
are used as a float to underpin sizeable portions of the financial
markets (inc. re-insurance), and the necessary need for that system
to continue to grow global capitalism, it seems very likely that the
essence of risk culture so endemic in society (now entrenched with
the 'cotton-wool kids' syndrome) is set to remain].
'Romance' –
originally a literary genre initiated in the Middle Ages, the term
derives from the vernacular languages which evolved from the late
antiquity of Latin (French, Italian, Spanish, Portugese and
Romanian). The term propelled by the tales of romantic heroism and
adventure, typically amongst European courtiers of the time, with
special association to Roman-Catholic Christianity as a then
propagandist method for creating crusading armies into the
Middle-Eastern Holy Lands. Since the definition very much altered via
the poetic tradition and thereafter 'romantic love'. In this mould
first commonly applied to fictional literature in the C18th
for middle-class female readership, itself moving from publications
such as 'Clarissa' and 'Pride and Prejudice' (demonstrating the
fantasy of an imploded class structure through a meeting of minds and
morals) through to very specifically contextualised settings, often
by which a remote or wild male figure is tamed or obtained by the
female. With the C19th and C20th periods being those of relatively
high geographic social mobility amongst workers, and aspects of the
old class structure seemingly eradicated as poorer 'landed families'
sought the financial heft of the newer entrepreneurial classes, so
'romance' became a new lever by which to meld people from (often
very) different backgrounds. The genre has obviously been the
critical element to the rationale of marriage, partnerships and
off-spring, hence the ideals of romance have ever since been extolled
by the entwined interplay of social expectations / aspirations and
the culture industry.
[NB romance as known
today obviously continues as the primary effector of western society.
Whilst also operating as an important social lever over the last 20
years or so in BRIC, CIVETS and Pioneer nations, where it operates as
a mechanism for social mobility and so performs as a corner-stone of
aspirational capitalism. However, in the west and Japan, where as
once it served as part of the social dream-scape, under-pinned by
stable employment, economic growth and ideals of the nuclear family,
that backdrop is today very much shifted. Whilst it will undoubtedly
continue to influence, it seems probable that new formulae will
influence, indeed for some dictate, the choice of partners, something
akin to self-arranged partnerships with those of a very similar
economic standing and conservative outlook. In this manner, for many
who seek to both protect themselves from the financial ravages of
divorce and recognise the new imperative to retain family wealth
(even if relatively minimal) down through later generations, seeking
very similarly situated partners (economically and intellectually)
will become an increasing need. Thus, very possible if not probable,
that the west partially returns to what is deemed as a lost
yesteryear practice of (self) arranged marriages and partnerships
with close social equals. In this way the west returns to a practice
which until recently has been major aspect of previously poorer and
cautious 2nd and 3rd world regions. Romance may
not be dead, but it looks to become better balanced by a steadfast
economic rationality by both astute males and females].
'Semiology / Semiotics'
– defined by Saussure (1916) as the science of signs and the study
of the life of signs within social life. At the time he believed the
true science had yet to be developed, but asserted that eventually
even linguists would be seen as a sub-category of semiotics. Fifty
years later Roland Barthes broadened the definition to include all
sign-systems including images, gestures and melodic
sounds...“everything from a menu used to select and combine the
items that make-up a meal through to the fashion system that operates
in womans' magazines can be studied in semiological terms”.
[NB Obviously sign and
signifier has for very long been part of human culture, early-on so
as to identify the individual as part of a certain tribe or clique,
ranging from clothing and regalia indicating status through to the
uniqueness of a Freemason's handshake to indicate secret fellowship.
But the modern world has seen the deployment of very semiotics grow
almost exponentially, yet again obviously through aspects such as
tribal affiliation, but also the necessary increase of very basic
graphic forms and codification within both a bigger and more
environmentally complex man-made world, and the need to similarly
navigate an increasingly technologically driven world. Literal signs
then the most basic of semiology. However, even at this simple level
whilst navigational sign systems are generally well recognised and an
easy aid (eg road signs) the complexity of a system must be
appreciated between sender and receiver when relaying information, as
recognised in a recent research project undertaken by the British
motoring organisation the AA. It is understood that a modern car's
dashboard can exhibit anything between 40 and 65 warning lights
displaying vehicle systems related symbols, however, whilst
meaningful to motorists of the past, many such symbols have become
effectively foreign to the majority of mechanically ignorant
drivers].
'Sub-Culture' – an
aspect of general cultural studies, it started out effectively by
stating the obvious about the youth identities of London's East-End,
regards style of dress, alignment to popular music and territory
demarcations. The term 'resistance through rituals' was coined by
which the young seek to create their own self identity – albeit set
by prevailing media manufactured trends. The sub-cultures studied in
the UK were: mods, teddy boys, skinheads, rastafarians and hard drug
users. Two female contributors noted that these sub-cultures were
invariably male created, and that female created sub-cultures (to
that point of the mid 1970s) did not really exist.
[NB given the power of
mainstream societies in structuring an operable framework,
sub-cultures have historically always tended to exist as an act of
rebellion from the authoritarian mainstream. As with the animal
kingdom. In the distant past tribal group leadership contests would
invariably based upon an opposing sub-culture (belief), and if
unsuccessful in gaining power would invariably relocate to create a
new alternative social group. However, once this was not practicable
for a society alternative social configurations were needed, which
provided enough leeway for identity demarcation yet allowed for
general social integration, this especially true amongst
testosterone-fuel younger males, but also increasingly younger
females' own striving for apparent autonomy.
The social constructs
of sports*, fashion, music and later video games would be that
framework.
* It is no coincidence
that football was introduced to the masses and popularised in the
same period that Saturday was added as a rest day and the 'weekend'
was created].
'Social Engineering' –
a popularised phrase at the beginning of the C20th, although the
subject of improved societal control and the improvement of living
standards for all discussed as a critical issue since the 1840s in
Britain, and similarly later elsewhere in Europe and America. The
issue gaining importance after periods of socio-economic turmoil,
experienced with events such as the French Revolution and the brewing
Russian Revolution. It spans much, from the very broad concept of
scientific eugenics (itself later be recast as near demonic) through
to the advent of socially enhancing urban planning with 'Garden
Suburbs' and 'Garden Cities' movements and provision, as central to
population growth and redistribution.
[NB given the essential
need to organise, 'social engineering' has been with humanity in one
form or another for millennia. As cities grow large and more
frenetic, so central and local government, along with business, has
had to evolve its thinking regards maintaining order and improving
general conditions. Today this covers an even broader spectrum, from
social order cameras in city centres, to the design of public
transport to even the artworks shown on the walls of McDonalds and
similar (eg use of an abstract design in local town centre restaurant
which evokes a finger-print, so as to deter rowdy youngsters from
shop-lifting and general theft). The monitoring and indeed
manipulation of the internet perhaps the biggest enabler to social
engineering, which like public space cameras, also seen an an
infringement of personal liberty].
'Veblenism' – the
term derived from the name of Thorstein Bunde Veblen, a American
socio-economist at his pinnacle at the turn of the C20th. His book
'Theory of Leisure Class' (1899). 'Veblenism' as popularly understood
in economics is the concept that in certain typically luxury
orientated goods, the stated price of an item equates to its notional
value. That is to say, whilst it has connotations of “you get what
you pay for”, this is not the over-riding edict. Instead the price
itself is the function usually demonstrating its affordability to the
very wealth few. As Veblen explains, it is the innate irony that such
high sums of money are used on often frivolous items that
demonstrates the buyer/owner's own wealth and power. To a lesser
extent, but similar, is the amount of expenditure spent on other
wasteful forms of entertainment: gambling, narcotics, parties etc.
Such consumption designed to confer prestige as the consumer can bear
his/her losses with relative ease.
Thus social superiority
is notionally gained (by the consumer's ego) via the expensive and
exotic.
Veblen himself used his
writings to spotlight the then contemporary attitudes in American
culture, especially amongst the “nouveaux riches”.
[NB whilst conspicuous
consumption is indeed a prime element of capitalism - given the
innate model of a) money creation b) consumption c) production d)
creation - to produce, it is well recognised that such activity
obviously depends upon the socio-economic conditions of a specific
period. Hence today, with the effects of the 2008 crisis still
prevalent in the west, and the contraction of the Chinese economy
with anti-corruption drives, new trends of both real and false
puritanicalism have emerged, with either the genuine or fake desire
by the wealthy to avoid being socially insensitive. Indeed, depending
upon personal circumstance and environment, often the decision to be
seen to be sensitive is actually the realisation that such forms of
display may indeed provoke acts of aggression, typically vandalism on
expensive vehicles, so in reality damage limitation exercises].
To Summise -
This basic compendium,
spaced over the 2 weblogs, provides what investment-auto-motives
hopes will be a new requestioning of social trends, with new forms
emerging and the fragmentation of older genres.
Although each and every
corporation operates slightly differently, their basic approaches and
methods regards understanding the 'here and now' – and critically
its formation of the future - are largely the same. To this end, the
auto-sector should recognise the advances made elsewhere in other
sectors, and seek to engrain such intelligence and expand its
exploration into what at first appear very nebulous topics.
